The Acts, Part 9
Notes
Transcript
In the first part of Acts 4, Peter and John were in the temple preaching and teaching but were taken into custody, simply because the religious elite were “greatly annoyed” at their proclaiming Jesus, and the resurrection of the dead. They had been arrested and the next day were taken to stand and give an account of their guilt or innocence in front of the council which consisted of Annas, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. Annas had been high priest from A.D. 6 to 15. The Romans had removed him from office yet he still wielded considerable power behind the scenes. Five of his sons succeeded him as high priest. He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas - the high priest who was in office at the time of Jesus ministry. Annas is still called "high priest" even though he was not serving in that capacity at the time, even though he had no official power. Even though the religious elite; the priests, captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, had brought these charges against Peter and John, and after their testimony the council could find no wrong doing. Instead, though, the didn’t want to upset those in the temple so they gave them the command to not speak or teach in the name of Jesus. When they did not yield to their suggestion, scripture says they were threatened more and released. To me, it would have been hard to have punished them with so many witnesses to the healing of the lame man of 40 years. So, they played the politically correct card instead of the integrity card.
Prayers for Boldness
Prayers for Boldness
23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them.
24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them,
25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “ ‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’—
27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,
28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.
29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness,
30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
I wonder how many of us, if we were told by a judge to not go back to church and preach/teach/heal in the name of Jesus would use that as an excuse to never darken the door again? Instead, when they told the rest of the gathered believers, the “church”, they came together as a corporate body and prayed! They would not allow the accusers or the council to receive glory from this, but instead prayed that God would be glorified. Now, notice what they prayed for: not that God would hide them, not that God would protect them, not that God would keep them safe, but that they would receive power to witness with a boldness like they had never had! My goodness, what would happen if churches today prayed for that type of boldness to witness to a lost and dying world, what kind of changes would we see?
Now remember, they had been given an order to not heal or teach in the name of Jesus. To do so would have been going against the high councils orders and could have resulted in further discipline or punishment. In today’s terms, they could have been held in contempt. But, to stay quiet would be to go against what Jesus had commanded to go into the world teaching the lost of the way to salvation and baptizing believers so that any and all who would hear and accept would be saved.
So, notice their corporate prayer. They prayed to God as sovereign “Lord,” the Creator of the whole universe, and as the ultimate authority behind Scripture. This was in line with their earlier declaration that they had to obey God, not men. Their prayer was expressed in part in the language of Scripture, the fulfillment of which they saw in the events surrounding the death of Jesus. They prayed in submission to the will of God. They asked Him to look upon the threats which had been made, grant to them boldness to speak, and seal their witness by signs and wonders. They prayed for boldness to continue doing the work of the Lord!
The results of the prayer are given in verse 31: “The place was shaken where they were assembled together.” They had prayed to God as Lord of the universe; He answered in that character. “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit”. Church, when was the last time our church was shaken because of prayer? When were you shaken as a result of prayer and the filling of the Holy Spirit? Believers, I think we are missing out on something by not corporately bringing ourselves together in prayer and asking and seeking God’s will and direction!
Now, this was not what the group prayed for. Their prayer was for boldness, but God answered by giving to them a fresh filling of His Spirit. Nowhere in Acts is it said that anyone ever prayed to receive the Spirit. F. D. Bruner in his book “A Theology of the Holy Spirit”, writes “We may be sure that it is proper, indeed desirable, for believers to ask for the Spirit continually, but it is not necessary to do so in so many words in order to have the Spirit’s presence or assistance.… We may be led, in fact, to believe from [Acts 4:31] that wherever there is the prayerful desire among Christians for the service of Christ there is the full gift of the Spirit”. This is the third reference in Acts to being filled with the Spirit (cf. 2:4; 4:8). From this it would appear that it is an experience which needs to be, and can be, repeated. “They continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” “Boldness”- they approached their witnessing with a fearless courage knowing it was God and not man whom they were to please.
Drawing Together
Drawing Together
32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.
33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.
34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold
35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.
36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus,
37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Too often, someone wants to lay claim or take ownership of the church. Now, I am not saying a church does not need leadership and guidance. What I am saying is we are a body of believers - no one part is more important than the others. Some may be less sightly, or may be less talked about, but they are still just as important. The early church got that, and they came together…Literally! All that they had was pooled together and used as if they were one large family.
Tony Merida, in Exalting Jesus in Acts, makes the statement we see the team of God in their huddle. How many were in the full number? Probably more than ten thousand. In verse 4 Luke mentioned five thousand men. Surely most of them were married, and some with children. Now, how is it that so many people can be unified? They “believed” the gospel. It was their faith in Jesus Christ that united them as one. The early church GOT IT! Our strongest source of unity is our gospel identity.
It’s not difficult to see how the church in Acts 4 experienced such remarkable oneness: they were generous. Theirs was a sharing congregation. When every member shares consistently, the church is united powerfully. We often think that unity will be experienced through our agreement on every minuscule doctrinal matter, on childhood educational philosophy, or even should we all share a political party. But it’s possible to agree on every point yet have division in the church. The type of unity Luke describes begins with a common gospel identity and a radical practice of sharing. Every member shares a common way of life. They share one another’s burdens and joys. They share their time and possessions.
Luke also tells us they shared all the time—whenever anyone had a need. This concept of caring for the “needy” is taken straight from Deuteronomy 15.
4 But there will be no poor among you; for the Lord will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess—
Luke also tells us they shared everything - no one laid claim to their possessions.
Generosity is easy to understand but difficult to apply. We don’t need further explanation of the concept; we need to better apply it. We can easily become like the lawyer with whom Jesus shared the good Samaritan parable. He wanted to exegete the word neighbor (Luke 10:29). Just who is my “neighbor”...
29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus just wanted him to embrace his neighbor. The type of generosity he wants to see in us requires not only a relinquishing of possessions but also sensitivity toward others.
Wealthy people existed in the early church. The Bible does not say there were no rich people among the first Christians; rather, we read that “there was not a needy person” among them. He is talking about a group of generous people who are sensitive to the needs of others. No one went to bed hungry because they could prevent it; no one slept on the street; no one went without clothes. The members took care of one another, and the wealthy even sold property in order to ensure this reality.
At this point in the chapter, we’re introduced to one of Luke’s heroes: Joseph. He gets mentioned twenty-three times in Acts! Religiously speaking, the man was a Levite. Nationally, he was a foreigner from “Cyprus.” And his nickname, Barnabas, means “son of encouragement” or “son of exhortation.” This nickname embodied his life and ministry remarkably well.
*** If mature believers were to look at your life and give you a nickname based on their impressions, what would it be?***
Barnabas invested in the lives of younger believers, even those others had doubts about.
Acts 9:26–30 (ESV)
26 And when he (Paul) had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple.
27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.
28 So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord.
29 And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him.
30 And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
He had a good eye and a glad heart (11:19–23) and he encouraged believers to remain faithful to the Lord (11:23)
19 Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews.
20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus.
21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.
22 The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.
23 When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose,
He was humble and trustworthy (11:25–30; 13:1–14:28).
25 So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul,
26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.
27 Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.
28 And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius).
29 So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea.
30 And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.
He was patient with the imperfections of others (15:36–41).
36 And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.”
37 Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark.
38 But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.
39 And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus,
40 but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.
41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
But here in this passage, Barnabas’s generosity is emphasized.
Barnabas, like the others, didn’t have to sell a field and bring the proceeds to the apostles, but he chose to do just that. This act of generosity demonstrated how he loved Jesus and people more than stuff. The fact that he “laid it at the apostles’ feet” displays submission, humility, and trust. He trusted the apostles to distribute it. He didn’t want credit for how it was used. He wasn’t interested in self-glorification but in God’s glory.
We need people like Barnabas, the unsung heroes of the church who gives generously for the kingdom. They encourage others, invest in their lives with their time and knowledge, and are happy when others are successful. Oh, how the church as a whole desperately needs more to be like Barnabas.
Next week, we will look at Ananias and Sapphira, who were the opposite of Barnabas - looking for fame and recognition while ignoring the true need.
Merida, Tony. 2017. Exalting Jesus in Acts. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference.