Commitment to the Gospel

Punishment

The Sanhedrin had told Peter and John not to preach in the name of Jesus. Peter and John told them that they must obey God rather than man. They did exactly what they told the high priest they were going to do. They continued to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It was having such a powerful effect on the people in Jerusalem that the Sanhedrin took notice and arrested them again. This time they arrested all of the apostles. They wanted to stomp out this new teaching that the apostles were teaching.

They were filled with jealousy. Their job as Sanhedrin was to keep the status quo to appease the Romans. If they did this they were rewarded with power wealth, and prestige. They wanted to suppress the people with religious rules that kept them in bondage. They were kept in bondage because they could not keep all the rules the Sanhedrin was forcing them to keep.

The Apostles were teaching a message of deliverance . They were sharing that the Law was never meant to be a means of salvation. Instead it was meant to reveal a need for a Savior. Jesus is that Savior. He lived a perfect life, was crucified for our sin, and was resurrected to life to give eternal life.

The high priest with the Sanhedrin arrested the apostles and put them in jail. The angel of the Lord delivered them from jail. This is ironic that the Lord sent an angel to release them being that the high priest and Sanhedrin did not believe in angels. They wanted to punish the apostles for not following their rule.

When the angel of the Lord released them, he gave them instruction to go their way and preach the gospel. This may seem like a reckless command because this was the second time they had been arrested for preaching the gospel.

We find the apostles doing exactly what the angel instructed them to do. We find them so bold as to teach in the temple where the high priest was. They were not afraid of persecution because the had been instructed by God to share the gospel.

Application

We have been given the same instruction. Matt. 28:19-20

Matthew 28:19–20 (NASB95)

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Christ has commanded us to make disciples. This means that we are to build relationships that demonstrate how to follow Jesus. It first entails leading a person to Christ. Hence we baptise them. Once they are saved we demonstrate all that Christ has commanded us. This is to show them how to follow Jesus.

Jesus makes a promise to be with us even to the end of the age. We are not alone in our disciple-making efforts. Jesus is with us to help us. He is the One that works in the heart of the person we are discipling. We do the outside work and Jesus does the inside work.

Puzzled

When the Sanhedrin called for the apostles to be brought to them for questioning, they sent officers to get them out of prison. When the guards got to the prison the apostles were gone. The jail was still locked and the guards were still in place but the apostles were not there.

The captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were perplexed as to how this could happen. Not only this, but they saw how the teaching was spreading and the boldness of the apostles. They were quickly coming to understand that there was not anything they could do to stop the gospel from spreading.

However thy had orders to bring back the apostles to the Council. The word of God said they did so without violence. They did not have to forcefully take the apostles to the Council. The apostles in their boldness voluntarily went to the Council.

Application

When we share the gospel strange things tend to happen. They may happen in the persons heart as the internal effectual call begins to lay heavy on their soul. Something may happen situational that may cause them to inquire further about the gospel. Finally, God may have already been working in their hearts and your sharing the gospel is what leads them to Christ.

When we share the gospel others will be puzzled as to what is happening.

Preaching

Peter got a second time to preach to the high priest and the Council. He told them as he did the first time that they were going to obey God rather than them. Then he proceeded to remind them that they were the ones to crucify Christ. It struck to the core because they themselves said that Peter was accusing them of having Jesus blood on their hands. He was right because they even confessed of having Jesus blood on their hands in Matt. 27:25

Matthew 27:25 NASB95

And all the people said, “His blood shall be on us and on our children!”

Not only did they indict the Sanhedrin for the death of God’s Son, but they also proclaimed that they couldn’t keep Him dead. They stated that God exalted Him to His right hand as Prince and Savior. Jesus is the only way to be saved.

They told the Sanhedrin that through Christ repentance and forgiveness of sins was available to Israel. They had a hard time accepting this because they believed that they didn’t need to be saved because they were chosen.

Application

SHARE THE GOSPEL.

Response

When Peter shared the gospel we see three distinct responses to the gospel: Hostility, Complacency, and Acceptance

Hostility

Acts 5:33 NASB95

But when they heard this, they were cut to the quick and intended to kill them.

The Council was so angry with the apostles that they were going to kill them. The word of God says they were cut to the quick. This means that they knew they were wrong and exposed and wanted to kill the apostles rather than repent of their sins.

There will be people in your family, that if you share the gospel with them it will cut them to the quick. They will be angry with you and perhaps even try to harm you physically, emotionally, or ruin your reputation.

People don’t like to be confronted with their sin. The natural response is hostility. They want you to hurt as they do when they deal with their sin.

Some people may be here this morning that are mad with me because I called them a sinner. It is true! I am sinner too! I have repented of my sins and have received forgiveness. Have you?

You can be mad, but that will not fix your sin problem. Only Jesus can do that.

Complacency

We see Gamaliel’s response to the gospel. He said not to do anything. He convinced the Sanhedrin that if these men were from God then they would be fighting against God. He also said that if they were not from God that they would simply phase out like others that had similar messages.

Acts: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Tolerant Indecision

While Gamaliel’s counsel seemed wise to the Sanhedrin, the notion that whatever succeeds has God’s blessing is false. Cults and false religions in our day have millions of followers. And what more evidence did he need to convince him beyond the empty tomb of Jesus and the miracles performed by the apostles? The word to all such fence sitters is “Now is the acceptable time, behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2; cf. Heb. 3:7; 4:7). Gamaliel was a pragmatist—a poor substitute for being a good biblical scholar. Such lethargy on his part is not commendable in light of what he knew of the Scripture and what he knew of the work of Jesus and the power of the apostles in His name

When you here the gospel of Jesus Christ you should respond with repentance and saving faith in Jesus Christ.

There are some here this morning that are not saved. They do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Quite honestly they don’t care. They just live their lives the way they want to without the blessing of knowing and following Jesus Christ. The are forfeiting abundant life for surviving.

Friend there is no more important decision that you will make than repenting of your sins and following Jesus. Don’t worry about lunch or what you have to do the rest of the day or this week. Focus on the calling of the Spirit of God on your life!

Acceptance

There will be some that receive the gospel. The word of God says that the apostles went away rejoicing that they got flogged for the name of Jesus. That motivated them to keep on sharing the gospel. The more they shared the more people were saved

The gospel continues to be spread today and countless people are coming to faith because the children of God are sharing the gospel and fulfilling the great commission.