The Growing Earthquake
Acts 4:15-31
Jeff Hughes – March 16, 2003
Calvary Chapel Aggieland
I. Introduction
a. The Sanhedrin, which was the ruling council for the nation is Israel had a problem on their hands. The apostles, Peter and John had been teaching the people that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah, and that He had risen from the dead. Furthermore, they stated that salvation could not be found through Jewish heritage, and religious ceremonies.
b. To the contrary, they taught that faith in Jesus was the only was to salvation. Their teaching had spread through Jerusalem like wildfire, and now the group of Jesus followers numbered over 5,000 men, not including women and children.
c. This was not only a threat to their social and political standing, but to their very way of life. They could no longer bully and burden these people with obscure regulations of their own making, because these people knew the scriptures, and had a very good command of them, even though they were not educated men. Many of their leaders were Galilean fishermen!
d. These fishermen had been teaching in the temple courts, and a great miracle was performed through them, A man, lame from birth was healed, and was now walking, and praising God. But not only that; he stood by these two fishermen, giving weight to their message.
e. They had to act. They had to do something to try and shut these guys up. We will look at their attempt, and what effect it had on the early church, as we continue our study through Acts today. But first, let’s pause for a word of prayer.
II. PRAYER
III. Illustration
a. Fritz Kreisler was a world-famous violinist. He had earned a fortune with his concerts and compositions, but he generously gave most of it away. So, when he discovered an exquisite violin on one of his trips, he wasn’t able to buy it. Later, having raised enough money to meet the asking price, he returned to the seller, hoping to purchase that beautiful instrument. But to his great dismay it had been sold to a collector. Kreisler made his way to the new owner’s home and offered to buy the violin. The collector said it had become his prized possession and he would not sell it. Keenly disappointed, Kreisler was about to leave when he had an idea. “Could I play the instrument once more before it is consigned to silence?” he asked. Permission was granted, and the great virtuoso filled the room with such heart-moving music that the collector’s emotions were deeply stirred. “I have no right to keep that to myself,” he exclaimed. “It’s yours, Mr. Kreisler. Take it into the world, and let people hear it.”
b. The gospel was like this violin, and despite a powerful group of people trying to keep it quiet, it could not be kept quiet. This message was too good to believe. It was too good not to tell others. Along that line of thought, I ran across this -
c. A gentle old Scottish Presbyterian minister named George Macdonald died in 1858, but he left behind a collection of sermons that have taught many about grace. MacDonald preached the gospel of grace so strongly that one of his sons protested, "It all seems too good to be true!" Macdonald replied, "Nay, it is just so good it must be true!"
d. The message that Peter and John were set about delivering was both good and true. Our eternity hinges on the decision we decide to make with that news. Some accept the gospel and readily believe, but others turn away, hardening their hearts.
e. Today, we are going to look at two different groups that made two different decisions as to what to do with that information. Our study comes from Acts chapter 4, verses 15 through 31.
f. If you don’t have a Bible, just raise your hand. Follow along with as we read -
IV. Study
a. Intro
i. 15 But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, 16 saying, "What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name." 18 And they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." 21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done. 22 For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed. 23 And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24 So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: "Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, 25 who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: ’Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things? 26 The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against the Lord and against His Christ.’ 27 "For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together 28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. 29 Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, 30 by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus." 31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
ii. The church that Jesus built was now becoming a voice in the city of Jerusalem. The voice was reaching to all strata of society. Today, it landed in the laps of Jerusalem’s ruling body of Jews, the Sanhedrin.
iii. As I said last week, this threatened these guys’ way of life. They derived their income by the tithes and offerings of the people. If they started following this Jesus, they would lose money, influence, and most important to these guys, power.
iv. They had to do some fast thinking. They had to do something to stop this. At the very least, these people would believe that they had killed the Messiah.
v. The Sanhedrin had two choices in front of them that day. First, they could accept the apostle’s teaching as truth, and embrace the message of Jesus, and repent from their sins. Repentance and forgiveness was even available to the very people that condemned Jesus, I want us to realize that.
vi. Their second choice was to reject the message, and turn their hearts away from the truth, and seek to cover it up.
vii. Today, we are going to look at their decision in depth, and the release of Peter and John as we continue along in Acts this morning.
viii. As I prepared this study, the verses broke into five main points, the decision, the declaration, the discharge, the devotion, and the divine request.
ix. Our first point looks at the Sanhedrin, what would they decide to do with Peter and John? We find out in verses 15 through 17.
b. The Decision (Acts 4:15-17)
i. 15 But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, 16 saying, "What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name."
ii. The first thing to notice here is that they sent Peter and John away. They knew in their hearts that what they were about to propose to do was wrong, and they decided to do it anyway.
iii. Sin in most always associated with some attempt to cover it up. We see this in the Bible from Adam and Eve. They sinned against God, and they decided to try and hide from God. It didn’t work, it never works, but it doesn’t stop people from trying.
iv. Jesus said in John chapter 3, verse 19 - And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
v. The Sanhedrin knew in their hearts that what Peter spoke was the truth. It was not only backed up by Scripture, but also by an undeniable miracle. God was giving His stamp of approval to the early church, and we will see this played out again and again in Acts.
vi. They could not deny the miracle of the lame man being healed. He stood before them by the power of God through the hands of the Apostle Peter.
vii. Their question comes in verse 16. “What shall we do to these men?” Wrong question to ask. As better question to ask would have been “What can we do to help these men spread their message?” Or, even better would have been “What should we do with what they are telling us?”
viii. You see, their decision to turn away from the saving gospel of Christ was already made. They had a choice that day to embrace Jesus, and His message of forgiveness and grace, or to reject it. They had chosen before this to reject it, when Jesus was among them. They would make the same bad decision again this day.
ix. My dad used to say, “You know what the difference between ignorance and stupidity is?” Ignorance is making a bad decision or a mistake when you did not know any better. Stupidity is knowing better and still making the decision to do the wrong thing.
x. The evidence was standing there in their midst, and they chose to try and preserve their lifestyle and the status quo rather than embracing the gospel truth. As we see here in verse 16, they say that a notable miracle had been done through the apostles.
xi. Their choice was to try and cover it up. Bad choice. It didn’t work for Adam and Eve, it didn’t work for King David, it didn’t work for King Saul, and it was not going to work for the Sanhedrin here either.
xii. Numbers 32:23 says – your sin will find you out. It may not be today, it may not be tomorrow, but it will find you out. It will catch up to you. This is a spiritual principle at work here called sowing and reaping.
xiii. Galatians chapter 6, verse 7 says Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
xiv. You can take that to the bank. Sowing and reaping is just like gravity. The only thing that can and does stop it is God’s grace and mercy.
xv. We see here in verse 17 that the Sanhedrin wanted to threaten the apostles not to teach in the name of Jesus any longer. They didn’t want it spreading any further. They thought that they’d just nip this in the bud. They were the priests after all, God representatives, from God’s chosen people.
xvi. They must have thought “Surely God would not be using these fishermen to deliver His message.” Guess what. He was. These two were hand picked on the shores of the sea of Galilee by God Almighty Himself to deliver His message to the people of Israel.
xvii. The Sanhedrin and the power brokers of the day had lost their jobs, and they just didn’t know it yet. For many years, they had turned their backs on God. Their hearts growing harder and colder, and farther away from Him. Their harvest would not come today, but it would come soon.
xviii. In 70 AD Titus Vespatian and a Roman Army so thoroughly destroyed Jerusalem and the temple, that the heat from the fires melted the gold in the temple to the point that it ran outside into the temple courts and solidified between the bricks in the temple courts. The Romans would literally take the place apart stone by stone to get at the money.
xix. The prophecy that Jesus made when He said that not one stone would stand upon another would be fulfilled in a generation, and some of those passing judgement on Peter and John today would live to see the destruction of their temple, and their nation.
xx. So, the Sanhedrin proposes to threaten the apostles. let’s see how this scene plays out in verses 18 through 20.
c. The Declaration (Acts 4:18-20)
i. 18 And they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard."
ii. The Sanhedrin had made their decision and now they were going to pass judgment on the apostles. They command them not to speak at all or to teach in the name of Jesus.
iii. These guys obviously didn’t know much about the apostles. Asking them to stop talking about or teaching about Jesus would be like asking them not to breathe.
iv. As we have covered in earlier studies, they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they couldn’t stop sharing about Jesus. They were very contagious Christians.
v. Before we get into Peter and John’s answer, I want us to explore something. The question many people ask – How does Luke, the writer of Acts, a gentile, know what was said in a closed door meeting of the Jewish Sanhedrin in the temple, when he wrote the book of Acts much later?
vi. A plausible answer that many of the scholars present is that Saul of Tarsus, a promising young rabbi, who would later become the apostle Paul, was most likely there. Luke was Paul’s traveling companion later in life, and if he were there, he would be able to recount what was said in the great detail that we see here in this passage. So, while we are not told by scripture, I think that this is probably our best answer.
vii. Now it’s Peter and John’s turn again. They address the Sanhedrin with the same fire and boldness that we saw last week, when they preached a gospel message to the Sanhedrin.
viii. Their answer is one of defiance. The apostles knew that they would not be able to comply with this command, and they told the court so. This has been a dilemma that has plagued righteous people all through the scriptures. Daniel would rather stand in the lion’s den than to not pray to God. Esther would rather face possible execution than deny her people before the king. Just like these heroes of the Old Testament, Peter and John would no back down either.
ix. The Sanhedrin assumed they were speaking for God, but Peter and John reminded them otherwise. They were just men, and they were commanding them to do something contrary to what God had commissioned them to do.
x. I want us to notice verse 20 here. The apostles say – “we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”
xi. That’s witnessing. Plain and simple witnessing. So many people hesitate to witness to others, thinking that they don’t know enough of the Bible, or they haven’t had any training. But, many times, all people are interested in is what can a relationship with God do for them. Many people don’t want to get into a big theological debate, they just want to know something better for their lives.
xii. That’s where we can come in and tell them all that Jesus has done for us. If we get that mindset, we can’t help but to talk about Him.
xiii. What I think is so ironic here is that the Sanhedrin can’t get the apostles to shut up about Jesus, right? Today in the church, so many times we see the opposite. Everybody wants to be a commando Christian, sneaking around you know. They’re camouflaged, they blend in, and that’s how they like it. They don’t make a big deal out of their relationship with Jesus, because they leave that to others.
xiv. The Barna Group did some research on evangelism in the Church a few years back. The results were shocking to me. Ninety-five percent of all Christians have never won a soul to Christ. Eighty percent of all Christians do not consistently witness for Christ. Less than two percent are involved in the ministry of evangelism.
xv. One of the missions of our church is to win the lost. I’m not going to stand up here and beat on you guys to go out and talk to other people about Jesus. That’s not my job. That’s the Holy Spirit’s job. My job is to equip you to be able to go out and win others for Christ. That’s one of the reason’s why we go through the Bible verse by verse. To equip you guys for the work of the ministry. I’ll do my best to witness to people, but I am only one person. It is much more effective when all of us are involved.
xvi. I want to challenge each one of you to look around at the people in your life daily, and realize that some of those people are lost and going to spend eternity separated from God, and then pray. Pray about how the Lord can use you to win that person for Him.
xvii. Where were we? Peter and John, standing before the Sanhedrin. What happens next? Let’s look at verses 21 through 23.
d. The Discharge (Acts 4:21-23)
i. 21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done. 22 For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed. 23 And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.
ii. Obviously, the Sanhedrin wasn’t too thrilled with Peter and John’s answer. So, they threaten them some more, and we see here from verse 21, that they could not punish them. Not that they didn’t want to, but they couldn’t.
iii. The Sanhedrin feared the people, and rightly so. Peter and John had a miracle worked through them that brought glory to God. To punish them for it would start riots in the streets – remember these were Jews.
iv. So, the bottom line is that the Sanhedrin wasn’t moved by the passionate appeal, or by the power of God working through the apostles, no, they were swayed by a public opinion poll.
v. This further underscores the fact that these guys were more interested in serving themselves than God. They cared what man’s opinion was, not God’s.
vi. Peter and John gave the glory to God; they didn’t tey and keep it for themselves. They weren’t looking to build a following, they were following, following God’s direction.
vii. Anybody involved in any kind of service to the Lord should keep this in mind. It’s not you. God can replace you. You are there for His glory, not yours.
viii. Notice verse 22 here. It seems kind of out of place. What did the man being over forty years old have to do with it? I’ll tell you. It was the moment God chose to work, to bring Him glory. Also, this man was a credible witness, he wasn’t some flighty kid, this was a middle aged man, healed and up walking, with friends and family. This further maximized God’s glory.
ix. The Sanhedrin had nothing else to do but let Peter and John go free. The first place Peter and John go is to their church family, other believers. When the storms of life come, we have a need for encouragement and prayer. God has provided our church family to us for this reason. Those relationships are there to help us through the rough times. Some one to pray with, someone to talk to, someone to share life with, and it is our opportunity to be Jesus to someone else.
x. I have people like that in my life. My pastor is one of them. When I need an encouraging word, when bad stuff happens, they are there. Church is kind of like a safety net like in that it is there to catch us when the storms of life throw us overboard.
xi. We get to see the church’s reaction in the next four verses.
e. The Devotion (Acts 4:24-28)
i. 24 So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: "Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, 25 who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: ’Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things? 26 The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against the Lord and against His Christ.’ 27 "For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together 28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.
ii. The church was overjoyed that Peter and John had been returned to the safely. Like Daniel, they had stood in a lion’s den of sorts, but were brought out to testify about the experience.
iii. Their reaction to this joy that they felt at Peter and John’s return was to praise the Lord. Jeremiah 17 tells us to bring a sacrifice of praise to the house of the Lord. Psalm 147, verse 1 tells us that praise is a beautiful thing.
iv. They lift their voices to the Lord in spontaneous corporate prayer. The first thing they do is to acknowledge almighty God, saying that He was the God who made the heavens and the earth and the sea. This spoke to God’s omnipotent power.
v. We read here in verse 24 that the group was praying in one accord. They were all together unified in spirit, focused on God. This was a mark of the early church that again, we will see over and over again throughout the book of Acts, and the New Testament.
vi. Sadly though, we don’t see a lot of “one accordedness” in the body of Christ today. What we do see is a lot of contention and strife. That’s not God’s plan for the church, because there’s no power there.
vii. Power is found when we all agree to seek God’s will, when we all decide to make up our minds to seek after God’s agenda, and not our own. If we stay open to God, and follow His lead, great things will happen. God’s power is poured out through willing vessels, and when there’s a lot of willing vessels together – watch out – God will move in a mighty way.
viii. One thing I want us to see here is that the word Lord here in verse 24 is not the normal Greek word used for Lord. The word used here in the original language was a word used to describe a slave owner or ruler whose authority cannot be questioned.
ix. God wants that kind of unquestioning obedience from us. He wants us to do His will without question. A willing vessel needs to be an obedient vessel. These two things are essential to serving God – complete devotion to Him, and unconditional obedience to His commands.
x. He may ask you to do things that don’t make a lot of sense to you. It didn’t make a lot of sense for us to drive up here from Houston every weekend to have church, but that wasn’t my decision – I was called to serve Him, and to do whatever He wants, if He wants me to drive 120 miles each way to do church every weekend, then I am going to do God’s will.
xi. But, we are here today to study about Acts. In verse 25, we see that they move on what the Lord had done, to what the Lord was doing. In verses 25 through 28 we see them praising the Lord for what He was doing right then. They saw the fulfillment of prophecy that day, when Peter and John had confounded the Sanhedrin the prophecy that they saw fulfilled was taken from the Psalms, written by King David.
xii. The verse quoted is Psalm 2, verses 1 and two. We see it quoted here in verses 25 and 26. The general idea is that resisting God’s will is something done in vain. God’s plans were not thwarted by the Sanhedrin that day, because they were plotting and planning against the same sovereign God that created the universe. God was fully aware of their plans, and they did not come to fruition.
xiii. This must have been very exciting to the apostles and the early church in general. They saw the prophecies of ancient scripture being fulfilled everyday. They knew that God was with them, directing their path, and filling them with the Holy Spirit.
xiv. In verses 27 and 28, we see a commentary on the fulfilled prophecy by the church. We see a short commentary on much of the prophecy they had seen fulfilled. Pilate, Herod, and the leaders of the Jews all plotted together to destroy and kill Jesus.
xv. They did kill Him, for three days He lay dead in a tomb, but on the third day, we see that they could not destroy Him, God had a different plan. The plan of these evil men was used by God to accomplish His purpose on the earth.
xvi. God’s plans always come to pass. We are just bystanders. Man can try to stop God, but it won’t work. The thoughts and plans of God are far above what we can even imagine. Or, as I like to say it – Our ways are not Yahweh’s.
xvii. It was this realization of God’s almighty power that opened the door for the church to present a request to the Lord, and we see this in verses 29 through 31, along with God’s answer.
f. The Divine Request (Acts 29-31)
i. 29 Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, 30 by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus." 31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
ii. Their prayer is for boldness. In light of all the threats and persecution they were facing, it is a reasonable request. It would be a natural thing to not push the issue, and back down, in light of the Sanhedrin’s ruling, but they were seeking God’s will, and not man’s.
iii. There’s something really neat about seeking God’s will and not man’s. That is that God’s will is always going to happen. Just like those that plan against God are thwarted, those that plan along with God are rewarded, they get what they ask for.
iv. Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5, verse 11 and 12 - 11 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
v. These people were blessed, because they sought the Lord with their whole heart, regardless of the circumstances. Them asking for more boldness would no doubt put them in harm’s way from persecution again, but notice here that it didn’t stop them.
vi. They wanted more boldness, and they ask that the Lord would continue to do miracles through them, to give them more opportunities to share the gospel message. That is a true servant’s heart, without any thought to themselves, they ask that God would continue to use them to advance His kingdom, and give more glory to the Lord Jesus.
vii. In our last verse that we will study today, we will look a the Lord’s answer. God’s answer is a resounding yes. He let’s His will and His pleasure be known to the followers of Jesus gathered there by shaking the very house itself, and by pouring out His Spirit on them again.
viii. The spirit-filled life is exactly like this. Being filled with the Spirit is not a one-time experience. God’s desire is to be filled again and again so that we can do the work of the ministry that He has called us to do.
ix. Next week, we will look at some of the fruit of the apostle’s faithfulness as we take another look at the church at Jerusalem.
x. As we close, I’d like to try and draw all of this together for us so we can apply it to our lives, because if we are just sitting here gaining knowledge, it is of no use to us unless we begin to apply the truths that we have learned into our lives.
x.
xi. Point Summary - There are four things I want us to take away from this message -
1. God wants us to hold fast to His promises and commands, even though it may put us in uncomfortable situations.
2. When God pulls us through, the first thing we need to do is praise Him, and give Him the glory.
3. When we ask according to His will, we are sure to get what we ask for.
xii. I‘d like to close with a short story.
g. Conclusion
i. On January 21, 1930, the name of Harold Vidian became synonymous with heroism. On that day, England’s King George V was scheduled to give the opening address at the London Arms Conference. The king’s message was to be sent by radio all around the world.
ii. Donald McCullough, in his book The Trivialization of God (NavPress, 1995), tells us that a few minutes before the king was to speak, a member of the CBS staff tripped over an electrical wire and broke it, cutting off the whole American audience. With no hesitation, chief control operator Harold Vidian grasped one end of the broken wire in his right hand and the other in his left, thus restoring the circuit. Electricity surged through his body. Ignoring the pain, Vidian held on until the king had finished his address.
iii. I this of this as a challenge for Christians. The message of the King of kings must go to the whole world. But only as we allow God’s power to pass through us can the Lord’s saving gospel be transmitted. Paul wrote, “How shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?” (Rom. 10:14). If we are willing to serve as conduits, regardless of the cost to us, the good news will be proclaimed around the world.
iv. Will you be a conduit for the King’s message?
h. Let’s Pray.
V. Closing Prayer
STAND FOR LAST SONG!!!!
