Completing the Mission that Jesus Began
Handling Persecution
Acts 4:1-33
Dec 9,2012
Evangelism, ministry
In Chapter 3 of Acts, Peter and John healed a crippled man. A crowd gathered and Peter and John stood and proclaimed Jesus as Messiah and God. The one that the rulers and people had demanded be crucified was the Messiah. He closed the message with an invitation to "turn from wickedness and be saved from sin."
That kind of confrontation brings hostility. But that's the kind of confrontation that God expects us to be involved in.
Read Acts 4:1-12
Persecution has always been a part of following Christ.
There are some tremendous truths that we can learn from this passage on how to handle persecution.
This chapter records the first persecution of the church and the church has continued to be persecuted over the past 2,000 years.
During the first 300 years of the church's existence there were ten major persecutions.
The first was under Nero, the sixth Emperor of Rome in A.D. 67. He had Christian sewed up in animal skins and then turned hungry dogs loose on them. He covered some with wax and attached them to trees and set them on fire to light his garden.
The Roman Emperor Domitian imprisoned Christians. Tortured them on racks, broiled them, burned them, scourged them, stoned them, and hanged them.
That was only the beginning of what the church has suffered.
So many Christians came to North America to escape persecution in Europe that it had a profound influence on the formation of this nation and its laws. The persecution of Christians has not been very prevalent in our nation until recently.
In some situations today in our country, a Christian may be in danger of losing his job or not getting a promotion if he is open about his faith and witness. Many universities do not hire faculty that have Christian beliefs. Sometimes believers are shunned by coworkers if they stand for moral biblical convictions.
Unfortunately these kinds of subtle persecution cause many Christians in our country to hide their faith.
In other parts of our world today, Christians are severely persecuted.
In Iran, the courts can impose the death sentence on men that become followers of Christ.
In 2011, 235 believers in 35 cities were arrested. Many spent weeks and months in prison, often serving long stretches in solitary confinement. They also endure interrogation and physical abuse. Yet the regime’s harsh treatment of Christians only further fuels the flames of church growth.
http://persecution.tv/video?task=videodirectlink&id=585
North Korea is believed to the worst persecutor of Christians in the world today. "Christians are treated as political prisoners and held in prison camps or concentration camps. They are detained and brutally tortured.
(From The Voice of the Martyrs)
Every night on the News you are hearing about the unrest in Egypt. The persecution of Christians is likely to increase if Islamic law takes hold.
Pray for Christians in North Korea, Iran, and Egypt that they will remain faithful to Christ in the face of persecution. Pray for religious freedom.
In one way or another, the true church will always be persecuted.
Jesus warned the church to expect persecution.
John 15:18 "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. NIV
2 Timothy 3:12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, NIV
If you live openly for Christ in this world, you're going to be persecuted.
Whatever the price we have to pay to bring others to Christ, it's always worth it. We are in this world so that we may tell people about Jesus. That is the only reason we are here. The believer’s life is expendable for the sake of those that are lost.
Acts 4:1 The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. NIV
I want you to see who's involved in this persecution.
The first group were the priests who were to be representing God in the temple worship. The priests were very corrupt and were a long way from representing God.
The second person was the captain of the temple and he was the head of the temple police.
The most important group was the Sadducees.
Sadducees were a religious and political group like the Pharisees and the Zealots. All the high priests at this point were Sadducees. They were the opposition party to the Pharisees. They were very wealthy. They maintained a collaborative attitude towards Rome. They were a very small minority, but had greatly political influence in Israel.
Their theology.
-They believed there was no resurrection of the body. There was no future reward. There was no future punishment.
-They did not believe in the existence of angels and spirits and the spirit world was a myth.
- They believed that man was the master of his own
destiny. They did not believe in the sovereignty of God.
Let’s look at the reasons that the Sadducees came after Peter and John.
Notice in verse 2 the words “greatly disturbed” NIV. They were terribly angry and filled with indignation and wrath because …
1. They were teaching the people. The Sadducees were the professionals and they believed that they were the only ones able to teach the people. They believed that they had the corner on all truth. Nobody else had a right to teach, especially not in the temple.
Acts 4:13 When 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. NIV
“They were unschooled, ordinary men”. You don't get the total impact by just reading those words.
unschooled: They were not Jewish theologians. They hadn't been to the proper schools. They accused Jesus of the same thing. When they asked Jesus where He got His teaching from, Jesus told them he got it directly from God.
ordinary: means that they were common people.
2. They were angry because of what they were teaching. They were teaching that Jesus was the Messiah and the Sadducees had killed him. This was an indictment of the whole nation of Israel for missing the Messiah. They were teaching that Jesus was raised from the dead. They kept announcing that Jesus was alive. The Sadducees hated them for it.
Whenever you stand up in the face of opposition and you proclaim the truth you are going to get in trouble.
Acts 4:3 They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. NIV
Three hours had gone by. Peter and John came into the Temple about three o'clock in the afternoon and by this it's at least six o'clock which was evening. Peter and John had spent three hours teaching the people before they were arrested.
Acts 4:4 But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand. NIV
This verse is so great! Imprisoning and persecution of Peter and John didn't nullify the effect of the Good News of Jesus. The church grew in spite of persecution.
There are five really practical principles in this chapter for meeting persecution.
1. Don’t react harshly to persecution.
Be submissive to those in authority and be kind and respectful to those who persecute you.
Acts 4:5 The next day the rulers, elders and teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. NIV
When the authorities seized Peter and John, they did not fight back. A brawl didn’t ensue. Peter and John don’t show any disrespect, or bad attitudes. They were at peace because they were trusting God. They didn't resist because they saw this as a great opportunity. They knew that God was going to use this for good.
They had been obedient in the proclamation; and now they were obedient in the persecution.
If you're obeying the Lord and you wind up in a mess, God is going to use the mess for good. But if you get yourself in a mess by being disobedient, that's a whole different matter.
Acts 4:6 Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and the other men of the high priest's family. NIV
This counsel was the Sanhedrin and they brought Peter and John before them. The Sanhedrin was the highest authority in the nation of Israel. They were the ones that tried Jesus and convinced Pilot to crucify Jesus. They were very angry because they were still not rid of Jesus. He was still the issue.
Acts 4:7 They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: "By what power or what name did you do this?"
Picture Peter and John standing in the middle of the 70 members of the Sanhedrin all sitting in a semi-circle around them. Now this is so exciting. God gave them the wonderful opportunity to tell the Sanhedrin about Jesus. Why did God do that?
Because he loved every person in the Sanhedrin and he wanted them to be saved. Even though they put Jesus to death, God loved them very much, just like he loves you and me. Our sins put Jesus on the cross just as much as the Sanhedrin did. What a wonderful God we serve.
This is why we must not react harshly to persecution and be submissive. If we resist, we can thwart God's plan. There was no other way Peter and John could have asked for a meeting with the Sanhedrin to talk about Jesus.
"By what power or what name did you do this?"
What a great question. (the Greek indicates, “they kept on asking them”). What a great opportunity.
Ill. When someone says,”Happy Holidays”, how do you respond? Do you get angry or do you smile and say Merry Christmas.
Don’t react harshly to persecution.
The next principle for meeting persecution is …
2. Be filled with the Spirit.
Acts 4:8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, NIV
The key to everything in the Christian life is the power of the Holy Spirit. The filling of the Spirit is simply when a believer trusts the Spirit of God to live through his life in obedience to God. That’s all it is. It is yielding everything to God. It is the only way to have Victory over the Devil.
T. S. The next principle for meeting persecution is …
3. Use persecution as an opportunity to be a witness for Christ.
Acts 4:9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, 10 then 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. NIV
Instead of clamming up or getting angry when they were persecuted, they used it as an opportunity to share Jesus.
The man was healed by “Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead,
Now that is boldness friends. They proclaimed the living Christ to those who killed Him. Even in the presence of the Sanhedrin he doesn't back off at all on the resurrection.
Never accommodate by deleting from the Gospel what offends somebody.
Acts 4:11 He is
"'the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the capstone.'
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." NIV
said there would be a stone rejected by the builders, but it would be brought back by God to be the corner stone.
That's a prophecy from Psalm 118 of the death and resurrection of the Messiah. The Sanhedrin were the builders who had rejected Jesus. They had thrown Jesus away. God raised Him from the dead and made Him the cornerstone of the church. Ephesians 2:20.
Use persecution as an opportunity to be a witness for Christ.
Read Acts 4:13- 20
T. S. The next principle for meeting persecution is …
4. Be obedient to God above all.
Acts 4:18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. 20 For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard." NIV
Peter and John recognized that God was the higher authority. They were to obey God rather than man. Jesus had said, Go into the entire world and proclaim the Good News to all people.
Peter says, to the highest authority in the Israel. You judge this. Is it right to “obey you rather than God”? What a powerful question.
Romans 13:13 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. NIV
The only time we are to not submit to the governing authorities is when they command us to do something that is against what the Bible teaches.
Whenever conflict arises between the commands of God and the commands of men, we obey God.
Be obedient to God above all.
T. S. The next principle for meeting persecution is …
5. Draw together with the church in prayer and fellowship to complete the mission.
Read Acts 4:21 -28
Acts 4:24 they raised their voices together in prayer to God. NIV
They came together in prayer and acknowledged that God was in control and they presented their concerns to God. They put their trust in God.
They did not pray to remove the persecution.
Acts 4:29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus." 31 After 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. NIV
They asked God to empower them to speak the Good News with great boldness.
Acts 4:32 All 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. NIV
They drew together in prayer and fellowship to complete the mission.
How are we to meet persecution?
1. Don’t react harshly to persecution.
2. Be filled with the Spirit.
3. Use persecution as an opportunity to be a witness for Christ.
4. Be obedient to God above all.
5. Draw together with the church in prayer and fellowship to complete the mission.
