A Study of the Book of Acts
Sermon # 12
“Attacked Again”
Acts 5:12-42
“And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch. (13) Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. (14) And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, (15) so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. (16) Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.”
The fear that came upon the people as a result of the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira (v.11) did not reduce the evangelistic effectiveness of the church. The apostles continued to minister in miraculous ways (v. 12) and reap an evangelistic harvest of souls. The fear that resulted from the death of Ananias and Sapphira caused the unbelievers to be unwilling to pass themselves off as believers. The church did not lower it standards in order to win the lost and the church’s growth did not slow down.
John McArthur states well the church current situation, “That stands in sharp contrast to the masses of uncommitted, even unsaved, people that feel comfortable in the church today. The failure of churches to preach holy living, and to discipline those who don’t live that way, allows sinners and hypocrites to remain in the church, convoluting its direction, sapping its power, robbing it of purity and marring its testimony.” (John McArthur. The McArthur New Testament Commentary: Acts 1-12 ( Moody Press: Chicago, 1994).p. 162.
The message of Jesus Christ is spreading rapidly in Jerusalem as spirit-empowered witnesses shared the good news with the lost. No one could deny the power that they saw at work through the church. But not everyone was happy with the success of the church. The age-old conflict of living truth versus dead tradition brought a fresh confrontation with the religious establishment.
The blessings of verses 12-14 are accompanied by a fresh wave of persecution. We are now introduced to a third attempt to stifle the preaching of the gospel. Satan’s previous attempt to work within the church failed, so now he stirred up the Sanhedrin again.
I. THE DANGER OF THE TRUTH 5:17-28
A. THE TRUTH IS SEEN AS A DANGER BY
THOSE WHO STAND AGAINST IT.
“Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with indignation, (18) and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison.
The Sanhedrin was in fact a coalition composed of those who are Sadducees and those who were Pharisees. The Sadducees were the theological liberals who did not believe in the supernatural – things like the resurrection from the dead and the existence of angels. The Pharisees were the theological conservatives, the orthodox who believed in resurrection, angels and the supernatural in general. The chief priest were all of the Sadducee party.
Once again the high priest and his associates are upset. In fact they were very upset. The word translated “indignation” is the Greek word zeloo and can mean “zeal or eagerness” in a good sense or it can mean the worse kind of jealousy as it is here. Today’s text will show that the high priest and his associates were enraged with the apostles for several reasons. First, the apostle’s denied their doctrine. Their preaching on the resurrection of Jesus was in direct conflict with the Sadducees teaching that denied everything supernatural. Secondly, the apostle defied their authority. They had given the apostle strict instruction to cease all preaching and teaching in the name of Jesus. That the apostle continued to do so was a slap in the face to their authority. Third, the apostles denounced their spirituality. By holding them responsible for the death of Jesus they found them guilty of sin and in need of repentance. Finally, the apostles were a danger to their domination of the people. The high priest and his associates, the Sadducees were filled with jealousy as they observed the growing popularity and success of the apostles. As they watched the crowds coming to hear the apostles preach and see them working miracles grew larger. They witnessed how the people held the apostles in high honor, and at the same time felt their own influence shrinking. Something had to be done!!!
B. THE TRUTH CANNOT BE STOPPED
Satan’s opposition backfired, rather than stopping the truth it provided an opportunity for God to display his power.
“But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said,
From what the Bible says in other places the angel probably caused a deep sleep to come upon the guards so that they were unaware of the gates being opened or of the apostles departing. It must have been fun to have been on the streets while the prison lay locked behind them. I believe that God shows some of his sense of humor he used angels to release the apostles. This was a real problem for the Sadducees because they do not believe in the existence of angels.
The angel tells the apostle to, “Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.”(21) And when they heard that, they entered the temple early in the morning and taught.”
The angel did more than release the apostles. He gave them a specific commission. The apostles are told to take their stand and to keep on speaking “to the people all the words of life” that is the words that are giving life to all that believed.
They were not freed that they might hide, but so that they could boldly return to the temple and continue to preach.
(vv. 21-26)
“But the high priest and those with him came and called the council together, with all the elders of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. (22) But when the officers came and did not find them in the prison, they returned and reported, (23) saying, “Indeed we found the prison shut securely, and the guards standing outside before the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside! (24) Now when the high priest, the captain of the temple, and the chief priests heard these things, they wondered what the outcome would be. (25) So one came and told them, saying, “Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!” (26) Then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence, for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned.
Before the Sadducees are even aware that the apostles had been released they were already back at work preaching the word to the people.
(vv.27-28)
“And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, (28) saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!”
I think that it is interesting to note when the apostles are brought to stand before the council that the high priest did not ask the apostles how they had been delivered from the prison. I suspect that he did not want to hear the answer. It was obvious that is something supernatural but it did not fit in with his theology and he certainly did not want to hear the apostle praise to God for their deliverance either.
Instead he levels his first indictment by asking them, “did we not command you to not to teach in this name?” He would not even say the name of Jesus. The high priest accused the apostles of “filling Jerusalem” with their teaching. The statement is a great admission of the effectiveness of the witness of the apostles.
The second indictment of the high was you “intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” The high priest had conveniently forgotten that he and his associates had said to Pilate, “his blood be on us and on our children” (Matt. 27:25). The high priest had totally misunderstood the purpose of what the apostles had said, probably because of his own guilty conscience. He thought that the apostles wanted to bring vengeance upon them for the death of Jesus when in reality the apostles wanted them to be convicted that they might repent and be forgiven.
II. DECLARING OF THE TRUTH 5:29-32
A. THEY DECLARED THE TRUTH BY OBEYING GOD (29)
“But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.”
B. THEY DECLARED THE TRUTH BY CONFRONTING SIN (30)
“The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree.”
He charged them with willfully rejecting and executing the Messiah and hence of being in rebellion against God.
C. THEY DECLARED THE TRUTH BY EXALTING CHRIST (31)
“Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.”
D. THEY DECLARED THE TRUTH BY WILLINGNESS TO BE WITNESSES (32)
“And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”
III. DEALING WITH THE TRUTH 5:34-39
Successful Christians and churches will make waves, and the world and Satan will retaliate with persecution. To convicting preaching there are but three possible reactions, violent hostility, indifferent indecision and saving acceptance.
A.VIOLENT HOSTILITY TO THE TRUTH v. 33
“When they heard this, they were furious and plotted to kill them.”
The response of the priest and others in the courtroom was very volatile. They were as Luke tells us “cut to the quick” the same expression is used one other time, in chapter 7, to describe the reaction of those who heard Stephen speak (7:54). Here the exposure of their sin so angered the members of the Sanhedrin they could not even see straight. Conviction either brings repentance or rejection. Rejection often brings anger. he Council so angry they wanted to kill them.
If the gospel we preach is not convicting enough to ever make anyone angry then it is not sufficiently convicting to bring anyone to salvation.
B. INDIFFERENT INDECISION ABOUT THE TRUTH vv. 34-39
“Then one in the council stood up, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in respect by all the people, and commanded them to put the apostles outside for a little while. (35) And he said to them: “Men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men. (36) For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody. A number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was slain, and all who obeyed him were scattered and came to nothing. (37) After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census, and drew away many people after him. He also perished, and all who obeyed him were dispersed. (38) And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; (39) but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God.”
At this point the disciple found an unexpected ally in Gamaliel. He is the teacher under whom the apostle Paul studied. He was a great rabbi. He basically argues that the Sanhedrin should stop and think before they act. That is very wise advice. Yet, although we can praise Gamaliel as a wise and gracious man, it was real only good worldly advise. It sounds on the surface like sound reasoning, but it is not. This line of argument has some real fallacies.
First of all he classified Jesus as just another rabble-rouser. Secondly, he assumes that history always repeats itself, just as the previous rebels had been subdued and their followers scattered so would the followers of Jesus. Thirdly he had the mistaken idea that if something was not of God it always fails, experience tells us that is not always so, look at the success of the cults and of the pagan religions of our day. Fourth, he assumed that it is possible to be neutral about Jesus and his message and it is not! “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.” Matthew 12:30 (NKJV)
He was right in that he asserted that “if something is of God you can not overthrow it” v. 39. It amazing perhaps that Gamaliel would even entertain the possibility that the apostles were a divinely-ordained and divinely-empowered group.
Tragically Gamaliel did not make a commitment to follow Christ. Instead, as far as we know he died waiting to see whether the Christian movement was really of God. The call of the gospel is to respond to God’s invitation today (2 Cor 6:2, Heb. 3:7, 15, 4:7).
IV. DECISION ABOUT THE TRUTH 5:40-42
“And they agreed with him, and when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. (41) So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. (42) And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.”
In his commentary on the book of Acts, R. Kent Hughes tells the story of Aida Skripnikova, a Russian girl who was born in 1941 in Leningrad. “In the fall of 1961 Aida came to know Christ as a nineteen-year-old, and with her new faith came the impulse to share it with others. Aida purchased some postcards with a beautiful picture by Claude Lorain representing a harbor at sunrise, (chosen perhaps as a symbol of the spiritual sunrise she had discovered) and then wrote a poem on the reverse side. The poem expressed her perception of life and the need to find God. The poem was entitled: ‘Happy New Year! 1962.’”
Our years fly past
One after another, unnoticed.
Grief and sadness disappear,
They are carried away by life.
This world, the earth, is so transient
Everything in it comes to an end.
Life is important.
Don’t be happy-go-lucky!
What answer will you give your creator?
What awaits you, my friend, beyond the grave?
Answer this question while light remains.
Perhaps tomorrow, before God,
You will appear to give an answer for everything.
Think deeply about this,
For you are not on this earth forever.
Perhaps tomorrow, you will break
Forever your links with this world!
SEEK GOD WHILE HE IS TO BE FOUND.
“Aida then took her postcards and stood on the Nevski Prospect (which is the Leningrad equivalent of Fifth Avenue in New York City) and handed out her cards to passersby. She was, of course, arrested. In April 1962, she was tried by a Communist court. She was exiled from Leningrad and lost her job as a lab assistant. She was arrested again in 1965 and was sent to a labor camp for a year. In 1968 she was arrested again and was sent to a labor camp for three more years” (R. Kent Hughes, Acts: The Church Afire, [Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1996], 86-87).
What do you think inspired Aida Skripnikova? Perhaps she had read the fifth chapter of the book of Acts and been struck by what the angel told the apostles after he delivered them from prison, “Go, stand in the temple courts and tell the people the full message of this new life.” Perhaps she took note of how the apostles were arrested, tried, and flogged, but on their release they went right back to the temple courts and “never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.”
Conclusion
Let me assure you, no man can stop us from proclaiming the gospel. No stop the spread of the gospel, not even in countries where Christians are being persecuted and killed. In fact, persecution promotes preaching, and we should never be ashamed of proclaiming the gospel. Because it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes. And what is the gospel? It is that Christ Jesus died on the cross, bearing our sin and suffering its penalty as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This Jesus is now freely offers us total salvation.
When people hear the gospel, either they will repent and receive Christ, or they will reject him, refuse him, and be forever separated from Him. The moment you hear and understand the gospel, you must make a decision, either to receive or to reject, the decision is yours.
