The Book of Acts is the record of the “firsts” of the Church: First Sermon. First Invitation. First Salvations. First Baptisms. First Corporate Commitments. First Recorded Miracle…
First Opposition
ACTS 4:1-12
“What About Mother’s Day???!!!???” I realize that some of you may be thinking that I have totally forgotten what today is. Let me assure you that I have not and while the message may seem totally irrelevant for the day when it is all said and done I am going to encourage the woman of God here today. It is like a master cook. The kitchen may be a mess during the process—ingredients all over the place, knives here, spoons there, disheveled hair, etc…--when the finished product comes off the grill or out of the oven it is exactly what it was intended to be. So it will be with this message.
The Opposition 4:1-4
Each group was greatly offended for differing reasons. The priests, rulers, elders and scribes were people who, because of their positions, benefited from a religious system that was being threatened by the new movement that was proclaiming Jesus as the Risen Savior and Lord who came to do what their religious system was unable to do—complete forgiveness of sins. The Sadducees were greatly annoyed because what was being preached did not agree with what they believed. The Sadducees were the doctrinal “liberals” of the day and they rejected any form of resurrection and consequently the afterlife. Jesus was being proclaimed as the Risen Savior and Lord who offers forgiveness of sins and eternal life to those who, by faith, believe in Him. They disagreed with Peter and John’s beliefs so they were greatly annoyed (some things never change). Furthermore, the Sadducees were more concerned with politics than they were with religion even though the position they held was a religious one. They were the wealthy, affluent and elite of society and had as their highest priority cooperation with and appeasement of Rome and its political system/agenda. The Sadducees were greatly annoyed because the crowd was rejoicing greatly over a man who had been healed by Jesus and they perceived another uprising about to begin over this Jesus guy and feared Rome would become alarmed and respond with force. They thought they had done away with this troublemaker Jesus!
The Interrogation 4:5-7
Due to the timing of the event, Peter and John were taken into custody for the night and brought before the religious leaders the following day. When the hearing takes place we find the number of plaintiffs growing as the elders, rulers and many of the high priestly family align themselves with those who are GREATLY ANNOYED at Peter and John’s preaching of Jesus as the Risen Savior and Lord. They begin questioning Peter and John regarding in whose name or by whose power this miraculous healing had been performed. At a fundamental level the religious council was wanting to know on whose behalf they were performing these miracles. They, being the religious council, knew that they had not granted them permission to do something like this so in their mind surely they were not working in the name and power of God. They probably assumed, like they did with Jesus, that these men were doing these things in name and power of Satan. Whatever the motivation behind their questioning, Peter sees this as a “once in a lifetime opportunity” because now he has the privilege of preaching Jesus to the religious ruling council (Sanhedrin) of the Jews.
Peter’s Response 4:8-12
Peter, being filled with the Holy Spirit, boldly and unapologetically states that the miracle that has taken place before their very eyes was done in and by the power and name of Jesus Christ. It was Jesus who had made this man whole. It was Jesus who had cured this man of his life long condition. Because Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit his response is not limited to just answering the question that was asked of him but takes advantage of the opportunity to proclaim the Good News of Jesus emphasizing the fact that salvation is available and it is available only in the name of Jesus. Peter’s statement in verse 12 is not only a statement of fact but an invitation to believe. Peter loved his enemies and extended to them an invitation to salvation in Jesus.
The Ruling 4:13-22
The religious council is taken back by the boldness of Peter and John. They know that they are men who had been with Jesus during His earthly ministry. They know that they know that they (Sanhedrin) were the ones that successfully led the campaign to have Jesus killed. Yet even with knowing all of this, Peter and John are unwilling to compromise or back down in regards to their faith in and obedience to Jesus. Their boldness is noted because the religious council was hoping to intimidate Peter and John to the extent that they would willingly enter into a plea agreement in order to secure their freedom. The religious council was in a precarious situation because they wanted to punish Peter and John by force or by incarceration but the crowd was rejoicing at the healing of the lame man and if they had done anything to Peter and John the crowd would have turned on them because the evidence was undeniable.
Knowing that heir hands were tied, the religious council orders Peter and John to not speak or teach in the name of Jesus any more. This was not only an attempt to silence the preaching and teaching of and about Jesus but to put a stop to any other “signs and wonders” that could have been performed in and by the name of Jesus because it was the signs and wonders that were being used by God to solicit the attention of the people so that they may hear the Good News of Jesus Christ and be saved.
What to do when opposition arises.
• What we do not see. We do not see Peter and John personally attacking those who are opposing them. REMEMBER THIS IS PETER! HOT-HEAD PETER. SPEAK FIRST THINK SECOND PETER. “I WILL CUT YOU!” PETER. They do not attack their character, their performance at their job, their level of intelligence, their family, their mistakes, etc…. They do not form a mob. They do not start a protest. They do not boycott. On and on we could go. I want us to consider this point because the examples I just gave is often the response the Church has towards those who oppose us in our beliefs about Jesus and life as He has instructed. We must remember the words of Paul when we encounter opposition in life found in Ephesians 5:12 because there he says, “We do not wrestle with flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” When we are opposed by another our immediate response is to attack the person but the Bible reminds us that when there is conflict in our lives we are not battling against other people but against the enemy—the devil—and his army who operates in the unseen realm.
• What we do see. What we do see is Peter and John doing what they knew to do—preach Jesus. Rather than attacking the people who are opposing them they lean into Jesus and, in love, proclaim the Gospel to them so that they too may be saved.
Don’t be surprised when good is attacked and distorted.
When you think about the oppositon recorded in our passage it really is a bit shocking. First, a group of people are GREATLY ANNOYED because a lame man has been healed. Secondly, a group of people are GREATLY ANNOYED because one group believes in something and someone that another group does not. Peter and John had done nothing illegal. The lame man being healed was a good thing. The Gospel being preached was a good thing even if some did not believe in it because it was a message of hope. Even though two GOOD THINGS had been done there was OPPOSITION to it. Good had been done to a lame man and it was opposed. Good had come to the world in the form of the Church serving the world through the proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ and it was opposed.
I want us to come to the point that we are not taken by surprised when the good that God is doing in the world, especially through the Church, is opposed. Satan despises anything good that God has designed and relentlessly attacks the good so that we who were the intended recipients of the goodness of God may suffer. The Book of Genesis begins wonderfully. God created all that there is and on mulitple occasions stepped back and said, “it is good.” We do not get far into the story, not quite three chapters, and we find the enemy coming in and attacking the good that God had created. In the same way, the Book of Acts begins wonderfully. Jesus ascends. The Holy Spirit arrives. Salvation comes to man in the name of Jesus. The Church is born. The lame are being healed. Yet in just less than four chapters we find the story taking a turn because the enemy begins to attack the Church and its ministry in the world. Satan hates the good that God has for us and seeks to destroy or at least distort what God has made for our good.
Womanhood, as God has designed it, is a GOOD thing.
I told you that we would get to Mother’s Day. We honor all the woman that God has put in our lives on this day not just our Mothers. We do this because some may not have had the blessing to have children yet and desire to do so. All women are precious and important to God and to us. With that being said, I want to give three words of encouragement and exhortation to all the ladies here today:
1. Embrace your design. I believe that the crisis our culture is facing in regards to gender and sexuality is the direct result of the attack of Satan on God’s good design. God designed us male and female; distinctly different but equally in His image and called proclaimed it as good. The gender lines of the day have been so blurred that a generation has and is coming up that, even though their anatomy screams their gender, does not know what it means to be a man or a woman. We are in desperate need of women who will show little girls what it means to be a woman and men who will show little boys what it means to be men. The enemy has blurred the lines between genders and we must fight back by fighting him not others. Therefore, embrace your design both in form and in attributes. Women are not only created differently physically but characteristically as well. Embrace God’s design. IT IS GOOD and the enemy despises it!
2. Be a Positive Encourager. There is something about the power of a mother’s words both positively and negatively. This is not to demean the power of a father’s words but there is just something about the words of a mother. I had a pastor friend do a poll on facebook where he asked his followers to complete this sentence, “What I remember my mother saying most is ___________________.” It blew my mind to see how many responses were filled negative and critical comments as people just unloaded their baggage that was created by a negative and critical mother. PROVERS 18:21a reveals to us the power of our words and because our words are so powerful we must choose them wisely. Culturally it has become acceptable and trendy to openly complain about and be critical of the children that God has blessed us with. It has gotten so bad that I have considered printing off facebook posts so that when the child of a critical and complaining parent finds themselves across the desk from a counselor who is trying to help them deal with some of their issues that stem from a critical and/or complaining parent, I can submit this information and speed along the process so the counselor can get to the place helping rather than investigating trying to figure out the root cause/issue. Unless Jesus unleashes a massive change on our culture, our children will be subject to negativity and criticism from the world all our lives. Let us not contribute to that but be encouragers. The enemy strives on negativity and complaining so we must fight back. God gives us the opportunity to bless and encourage others with our words and the enemy opposes that because he knows the power of our words.
3. A word to men. There was only one time during the creation process when God stepped back to look at all that He had done and said that something was missing. When “no suitable helper” was to be found for Adam God said that, “It was not good that man should be alone.” When God created Eve He did so in such a way that Adam was blessed because now he would have one beside him who would compliment him in every way. Eve was not given to Adam to be neglected, abused or taken for granted but to be loved and cherished because God not only gave Adam a wife but He entrusted to him His daughter. With that being said, men I want you to understand that our children will learn how to love, respect and honor their mothers by how we love, respect and honor them. We can demand them to act a certain way all we want but they learn from our example way more than they do from our words.
When the enemy attacks… God has designed so much good into the world and the enemy hates it. Whether it be the good in how we are designed and wired for life or the good that the Church does in the world through serving the world with the Gospel. Knowing that we will be opposed as God’s people is part of the battle.
