The Promised Persecution Begins

Review

Turn to Acts 4:1-22.

In case you missed it, a small miracle happened last Sunday morning. I covered all of Acts chapter three in one message.

Acts chapter three showed Peter and John carry on the witness for Christ in Jerusalem. The apostles do an extraordinary miracle as a lame man is healed right by the Temple Mount. They showed great compassion, they exercised great faith, the Savior was glorified, and the Gospel was preached. It was a great victory for the local church there in Jerusalem. It was what we might call a mountaintop experience, but all of that is about to quickly change for this young church.

Message

Read Acts 4:1-4.

When I was in Bible college, I remember being taught that preaching a message is like flying an airplane. When you stand up to preach, have a good take off, say what God wants you to say, and then land the airplane and sit down. Don’t keep circling your final destination for fifteen minutes telling stories.

In the verses we just read, Peter didn’t get a chance to tell stories. He didn’t have the opportunity to be a long-winded preacher. Peter and John were in the very act of speaking to the people when some of the Jewish authorities aggressively approached them and put them under arrest.

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Peter and John are arrested - Acts 4:1-4.

This was the height of injustice for the authorities to do this to fellow Jews. Peter and John were going up to the Temple to pray and they end up spending a night in prison without any charges being filed against them. How unfair!

The Bible is silent on what that night was like for those two men, but I can’t help but think that they remembered something during those long hours in the darkness. You see, Jesus had promised that this was coming.

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John 15:20 (KJV 1900)

Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you;

And so, the promised persecution begins here in Acts chapter four, not long after the church in Jerusalem had been planted.

Application: Christian, remember:

A wicked world hated Noah, a preacher of righteousness.

A wicked world persecuted Jesus, the very Son of God.

And the Bible says in 2 Timothy 3:12 “all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” also.

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The reasons for the arrest - 4:2.

First, the leaders - the high priests - come running. Right alongside them were the guards and their commanding officer. The Temple had its own unit of guards specially assigned for the protection of that facility. The captain of that unit was second in command to the high priest. Then there is this group called the Sadducees. They were a group of the Jewish elites that were “buddy-buddy” with Rome and consequently had a lot of power. But more important to this story was the fact that they did not believe in the resurrection of the dead.

Well what was Peter and John preaching? That through Jesus they could receive forgiveness of sins and be resurrected from the dead!

Why were Peter and John being arrested? It wasn’t because they had broken any Roman laws. It wasn’t because of any criminal behavior! It was because they dared to preach Jesus! They dared to preach the resurrection from the dead! And the authorities hated it because this was a threat to their power!

Application: Don’t be afraid to lovingly proclaim the Word of God. Study the Scriptures so that you can stand on your own against error as you are guided by the Holy Spirit.

Husbands and dads: know the Bible for yourself so you can be the leader of your family.

Moms: know the Bible for yourself so that you can help your children connect the dots between God’s Word and the circumstances of every day life.

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The growth in spite of the arrest - 4:4.

The authorities could silence the preachers but they could not stop the power of the Scriptures! God’s Word could not be stopped. Paul also suffered for preaching the Gospel.

2 Timothy 2:9 KJV 1900

Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.

The preachers were silenced, but more people believed in Jesus anyway. Of men alone, there were approximately 5000.

Application: It is futile for man to oppose God! So make sure today that you are on the Lord’s side in salvation and then in submission.

Peter and John are arrested, secondly…

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Peter and John are questioned - Acts 4:5-7.

Read Acts 4:5-7.

These were the same high priests that had put Jesus on trial. Luke records for us the main question that they asked, but the text indicates that there was more than one question raised at this council.

“They asked” is in the imperfect tense, indicating that it was not a single question, but a time of questioning. This was the Jewish religious experts bringing “a stern session of grilling” against these former fishermen, but it could be summarized by this question: “By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?”

Notice, there is no accusation! There is no reading of the charges brought against the accused! There were no charges to give! This was the height of unfairness! Unfortunately, neither of these men were Roman citizens, so they couldn’t play that card. Except for the support of the people, they were at the mercy of these powerful men.

Application: Sometimes circumstances or even people in life won’t be very fair. They won’t be very understanding. They won’t care about your side of the story - certainly that’s what was happening to Peter and John here. When that happens, commit it to the one who judges righteously. Surrender it to the Lord. Don’t take vengeance. Don’t respond in-kind. If the law applies to the situation then that may be a necessary step to take, but don’t make it your life’s goal to destroy that person. Chances are, if you do that, you’ll destroy yourself in the process. Instead, surrender them to the Lord.

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Peter’s answer - Acts 4:8-12.

Read Acts 4:8-12.

Notice, if you ever want to be effectively used by God, you must be filled with the Holy Ghost. That pattern appears all throughout the book of Acts. Now, what does that mean?

“Filled” means to be controlled by the Holy Spirit. It’s not like being a robot, but like living under the continual influence and guidance of the Spirit of God. God will not work through your flesh, but He will use a Spirit-filled Christian.

Application: When you consciously surrender yourself to the control of the Spirit and purpose in your heart to obey His leading, then He can use you.

In verse ten, Peter says, “be it known unto you all”, in other words, “Listen closely! I don’t want you to miss this!”

Peter’s answer included several parts:

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He preached the name of Jesus - 4:10.

Peter doesn’t dodge the question, does he?

“By what name have ye done this?” was the question.

“By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth” was the reply.

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He preached the approval of God - 4:10.

They knew who Jesus was. These very men had put Him on a mock trial and then delivered him to the Romans to be crucified. And so Peter says, “whom ye crucified.” They crucified Jesus, but God put His stamp of approval on Jesus by raising Him from the dead! They were standing in opposition to God! And now they were putting the representatives of Jesus Christ on trial for healing a crippled man! Obviously, this was an act of God also. Either the high priests would convert and accept Jesus or they would continue in opposition to God.

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He preached the fulfillment of Scripture - 4:11.

Peter here quotes Psalm 118:22. Jesus was like a stone which builders rejected and would not use or trust in. These religious experts were doing exactly as the illustration described in that they refused the Lord Jesus and would not bow the knee to Him.

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He preached the exclusiveness of Jesus - 4:12.

I love that Jesus is like none other. There’s no other one else like him. I can’t fully understand Him but that’s okay because if I did then He couldn’t be God. No, there’s none like Him and there’s none that can save like Him.

Application: We must not water down the fact that Christianity is exclusive. Jesus calls for an all-or-nothing allegiance. He deserves an all-or-nothing allegiance. He doesn’t need to be combined with any other religion. He doesn’t want to be added to any other organization. He cannot be simply added to the pantheon of our world’s religions. Jesus Himself, by His own words, precluded any possibility of salvation by Himself and by others. Either salvation is by faith in Christ alone or He is a liar. He offers salvation exclusively and He demands our allegiance entirely! He is God and He will settle for nothing less!

That was Peter’s answer or more correctly, that was the Spirit of God’s answer. Jesus told the disciples that the Spirit would do this.

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Luke 12:11–12 KJV 1900

And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.

God kept His word to the disciples, and likewise, God will keep His word to influence and guide His children today as they yield to the control of His Spirit.

Mention Wednesday night Bible study on the Holy Spirit.

We’ve seen Peter and John arrested, Peter and John questioned, and Peter’s answer, now fourthly…

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Peter and John’s boldness - Acts 4:13-22.

Read Acts 4:13-22.

Peter’s answer with the added the presence of the healed man was so effective that these lawyers were at a loss on how to respond!

You know you’ve done good when lawyers don’t know what to say!

Peter and John were unlearned men. They had never been trained in the religious schools of the Jews. They would never receive the education that Paul the apostle would receive from the great rabbi, Gamaliel.

But they had been with Jesus.

Peter and John were ignorant men. Meaning, they were private citizens. They had never held public office such as their persecutors held. They did not have the bearing, the polish, or the public speaking skills that their persecutors had.

But they had been with Jesus.

Application: Christian, have you been with Jesus lately?

I’m not asking how many years you’ve been saved - that doesn’t mean you’ve been with Jesus.

I’m not asking how your church attendance has been. That’s vitally important, but just because you’re here this morning doesn’t mean that you’re ready to spend time with Jesus.

I’m not asking how high your personal standards are. How you live should reflect the holiness of your God, but high personal standards don’t mean that you’ve been with Jesus. It is possible to be polished on the outside and to be spiritually cold on the inside.

Christian, have you been with Jesus? The more you spend time with Him, the more you’ll be like Him. That’s what had happened to these disciples. They had been with Jesus - and it showed.

Christian,

Being with Jesus will empower you. You will be able to boldly stand in the face of persecution.

Being with Jesus will transform you. You can’t leave His presence the same.

Being with Jesus takes time - like any relationship. It is not a flash-in-the-pan experience. It is a daily pursuit to know Him.

Earlier this week I heard a pastor say something that I thought was very wise. To paraphrase his words, he said, “the more I pray, the more I realize that prayer is not so much about getting answers as it is about fellowshipping with God.”

God doesn’t want me to pray just for the purpose of getting answers; He wants me to pray more for the purpose of being alone with Him.

Christian, have you been with Jesus?

If you don’t spend time with Jesus, you won’t be a channel of His love.

If you don’t spend time with Jesus, you won’t be ready to introduce others to Him.

If you don’t spend time with Jesus, you won’t have boldness in the face of persecution.

Perhaps this morning you need to humble yourself, come to this altar, and agree with God that you haven’t been meeting with Jesus. You’ve been saved, but you don’t know Jesus much better today than you did the day you were saved.

If that’s you, I want to cheer you on and help you in every way that I can to get to know Him, but you have to humble yourself first. I’d be happy to start a Bible study with you or counsel you, but you have to get to a point that you are tired of a Christ-less Christianity. It’s time that you be passionate about your Savior and knowing Him. Until you do that, you will not have power, you will not have boldness, you will not enjoy the victory that He offers. Peter and John were ready for the promised persecution because they had been with Jesus.

Invitation

Don’t rush it. Don’t talk too much.

Christian:

Unsaved: