Sermon Tone Analysis

Main Idea

Marks of True Christian Character

I debated whether or not I wanted to tell this story, but I thought it would be a good way to connect the story today.

So, despite it being a little embarrassing… here we go.

Three or four years ago, I was in Costa Rica with Operation Christmas Child.

Somehow, the NLT there had gotten an audience with the Vice President of the country and I was there with members of our Canadian office to present the project to him.

Our consignee there graciously put us up in a cabin they use to host guests of their organization, so me and two Canadian SP Staff where there together.

It was in a beautiful place surrounded by lush greenery, outside the main city.

The bottom floor was community living space and the upstairs was three rooms filled with bunkbeds.

Thankfully, since it was only the three of us, each person had a room to themselves.

On the first night, we were wakened in the middle of the night by a rumbling that grew louder and stronger.

To me, it sounded like a handful of people were sprinting up the stairs, which of course freaked me out, because we were in the middle of nowhere.

I honestly thought a group of people had broken into the cabin and were coming to take us captive.

So what did I do?

I instinctively lea pt into the closet, which was just beyond the entrance into the room so that I could grab the last person that barged into my room.

If I was going down, they were going to have to work for it.

So, I waited while the rumbling continued, but no one came.

Eventually, the noise died down and still no one burst into my room.

So, after I was convinced that there actually wasn’t anyone coming for us, I went out into the hallway, where my other tow colleagues were talking about what just happened and they quickly asked where I had been.

As it turns out, it was an earthquake that had shaken the house!

I rather sheepishly told them what I thought and they were gracious enough to not physically fall to the floor and roll in laughter.

As embarrassing as that was at the time, I learned something about myself that day.

That night revealed part of my character.

In a fight-or-flight situation, I was ready to fight.

And as we will see in our story today, the initial persecution from the Sanhedrin drew out markers of true christian character that we need to be aware of so that we can act accordingly today.

Passage & Outline

I - The 3 Character Qualities the Jewish Leadership Recognized

II - How the Jewish Leadership Reacted

III - How Peter and John displayed godly defiance

IV - The Jewish Leadership’s Inability to Act

I - The 3 Character Qualities the Jewish Leadership Recognized

There were three significant things that the Jewish leadership recognized about these two men, which in turn, show us the three character traits we are to have:

1.

They saw boldness

In the past few weeks, we have seen Peter’s boldness over and over again, but this is the first time that the leadership has seen it.

Though they held significant authority and they knew the deals they had made with Roman officials, it was hard for them to accept the fact that these men were standing up against them.

They wanted to manufacture an intimidating circumstance so that through that intimidation, they could silence the Apostles, but despite being thrown into prison and being summoned to an impromptu trial, these intimidating circumstances didn’t hinder the bold words from being spoken.

But that didn’t deter these men.

Actually, we see this boldness as a trademark and a consistent prayer throughout the New Testament:

So, we see that the first mark of true christian character is to have a bold stance on the proclamation of the gospel.

We cannot shy away from the very thing that God uses to raise others to spiritual life.

I know it can be awkward to talk to friends and family about this.

They say that the two biggest subjects to avoid during the holidays are politics and religion because they so quickly divide the room.

But, if we truly love them, how could we not tell them how to be reconciled back to God?

Being bold doesn’t mean that with a tall stance and chest out, you brazenly and bluntly call them out.

What it simply means, and as it’s demonstrated in the text, is a willingness to speak, no matter the consequence.

That could mean that you speak very compassionately.

It could be a meek approach to simply offer up a consideration your unbelieving friend had not thought about before.

But the mark of a true christian isn’t one to shy away.

Jesus modeled it during every interaction he had with the Jewish community and the Pharisees as well as when He was on trail.

Peter and John are modeling it as they address the various crowds and as they stand trial.

Therefore, we need to model it as we live out our daily lives now with ease as well as during the times that we are under our own trials.

2. They Saw Wisdom despite a lack of education & training

It’s not that the disciples were completely ignorant of the Torah.

In fact, we’ve seen how Peter drew from the well of his own scriptural knowledge to point to Jesus being the Messiah.

But they did recognize them to be common laborers like fishermen and not the academic elite as advanced students of the Torah.

If you remember, the crowd that gathered at Pentecost scoffed, saying that these people were just Galileans.

They were common folk.

Their unique accents likely gave them away.

It was clear that these two men had not sat under the tutelage of a Rabbi.

Do you want to know who else never sat under the guidance of a prestigious Jewish Rabbi?

Jesus.

Jesus - being who He was - didn’t need an earthly teacher.

It is in Him that are hidden ALL the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col.

2:3).

Since He is the source, he would be getting inferior information if he went to a Rabbi like Gamaliel, for example.

It would be sub-par knowledge.

Any information coming from an earthly teacher would be second-hand knowledge for Jesus.

So, it would make sense then, for Peter and John to have remarkable insight and wisdom since they learned from the primary source of all knowledge for over three years.

They didn’t need to graduate from Temple University.

To the academic elite, they would have appeared to be ignorant blue-collar workers.

However, we can look back and clearly see the benefits of having the ultimate teacher who dispensed his knowledge 24/7!

Their superior knowledge and insight was baffling to the members of the Sanhedrin, but it is a reminder to us that we are supposed to learn from God Himself.

That’s the second mark of Christian Character - that we are actively learning from God.

We spend time in His Word.

We spend time praying, which is a conversation (speaking and listening).

The 3rd member of the Triune Godhead - The Holy Spirit - lives inside you to guide you into all truth.

Since the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son and He always reveals the truth of who Jesus is, you and I have the same benefits as Peter and John!

Sure, they had Jesus physically present with them for a time, but we have the Spirit with us every second of every day without fail.

We have 24-hour access to the greatest teacher, comforter, and counselor of all time!

You don’t need a seminary degree to witness to your friends and family.

Is christian education helpful?

Absolutely.

I would not have stepped foot in this pulpit to guide others in spiritual truths without having gone to seminary.

Personally, I think our leaders need to have official training and education, but that is for me as your Pastor, not necessarily for you as a friend, father, mother, son, daughter, co-worker, caregiver, employer, or anything else.

We all have equal access to the same Knowledge-giver.

So the question I want to ask you right now is: If someone spend more than ten minutes with you, would they walk away wondering what is different about you?

Would they listen to your words and know that you have a meaningful relationship with Jesus?

Not just a head knowledge OF HIM, but a strong relationship WITH HIM?

3.

They recognized these men had been with Jesus

Shouldn’t that be the penultimate goal for us all?

It’s possible that because some of the Sanhedrin leadership were so astounded at their wisdom that they didn’t realize that these men were Jesus’ disciples.

At least at first.

But, as they spent more time interrogating them and the more the two men spoke and reacted, it was abundantly evident that they were products of their Teacher.

Have you ever been around a fisherman, just after they got off work?

Can you immediately tell what his profession is and what he has been around?

Okay, so maybe that’s a poor example.

What about walking through the perfume section of the mall.

As you walk past people, do you think they will realize where you have been?

Then, maybe we can make the connection that the more we spend time in prayer with Jesus and in the Word of God, the more it will be evident where we have been and who we have been with.

Instead of reaking of fish or cheap perfume, we will be, as Paul puts it, the fragrance of life (2 Cor.

2:16) to those around us.