Unstoppable Ordinary People

Intro: Theme/Topic (What’s the problem, the question, etc.)

Anyone here ever feel like you can’t talk with others about Jesus? It’s just not your gift. You don’t think you know enough. So, you keep quiet about Jesus and leave all that talking stuff to the professionals…those who have all the answers to peoples objections. — Well that’s exactly how our enemy wants you to feel and think!

The problem with this thinking is that it negates the powerful working of the Holy Spirit who indwells every follower of Jesus…not just pastors and teachers. And when the Holy Spirit empowers an ordinary person, the advancement of Christ’s Kingdom is UNSTOPPABLE!

This what we are going to see in today’s text…Peter and John — 2 ordinary guys filled with the Spirit making the religious elites speechless!

Before we go to the text. I should recap a bit for those just joining us. In Acts 3, Peter and John are going to the temple pray when they encounter man who was lame from birth begging for money to just survive another day.

They give this man the gift of healing which makes his legs strong. And not only that but twice we are told that he was leaping!

This of course draws a crowd and people come running!

Peter then uses this opportunity to deflect all this attention onto Jesus — the true source of this miracle. And he tells all the people that their deepest need is not for temporary physical healing but for spiritual healing! They needed to have their sins blotted out and forgiven by God!

He tells the people this is all made possible by Jesus who lived, died, and rose again and that they must respond by turning from their wickedness!

This is where we left off last week and where we will pick things up again now…

Scripture

Grab your Bibles and turn with me to Acts 4:1-22. If you need to use a pew Bible, you’ll find today’s text on page 1083. Once you’re there, please stand with me if you are able and follow along with me as I read...

Acts 4:1–22 ESV

And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand. On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened. For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.

This God’s Word!

Prayer

Heavenly Father, may your word prove powerful this morning among us. Fill us now with your Spirit that we may understand and be empowered to speak boldly of Jesus with others! — We as this is in Christ’s powerful name — AMEN!

Intro: Formal (give context to passage, setting the scene, big idea)

What encouragement is here for all of us ordinary people? What hope do we have for being used mightily by God to tell others about Jesus?

Let’s find out. We’re going to discover this hope by working through this text using 3 points…

Opposition

Interrogation

Response

Opposition

Chapter 4 is the first recorded instance of persecution against Christians. — As Peter was speaking, the religious elite rushes in to crash this party. And Luke tells us they were GREATLY annoyed — BUT WHY? Because they were proclaiming “IN JESUS THE RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD.”

Notice their main problem was NOT that Peter and John were telling people that Jesus rose from the dead — this was true but these Apostles only proclaimed Jesus’ resurrection as evidence that pointed to a greater reality… That IN JESUS the resurrection from the dead is now available to ALL who repent and believe!

This certainly annoyed the Sadducees because they denied any kind of resurrection or anything miraculous for that matter. But what annoyed the rest of the religious elites was that Peter and John proclaimed RESURRECTION NOT RULES!!!

You see this was how the religious elite maintained control over the people. They added all kinds of man-made practices and rules on top of God’s Word that became the means by which a person could be made acceptable to God.

But Peter and John said NO, only the resurrected Jesus makes anyone acceptable to God — to ALL who come to Him in faith.

So, what does the religious elite do? — v.3, They arrest Peter and John…now I’m sure they probably thought this would cool things off for a bit and discourage the spread of their message — BUT Luke tells us in v. 4 that 5,000 more people hear and believe the Word of the Gospel and come to faith in Jesus!

Now this seems incredibly counterintuitive! But it’s been a fact all throughout church history that where there is persecution, the church grows and spreads! In fact, the church has always thrived in places most unfriendly to Christians!

In fact it was Tertullian who wrote in the 2nd & 3rd centuries that, “THE BLOOD OF THE MARTYRS IS THE SEED OF THE CHURCH.”

And this kind of treatment was just what Peter and John would have expected…because Jesus said this would happen! John 15:20

John 15:20 ESV

Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.

Luke 21:12 ESV

But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake.

I often have wondered if the reason the church in America has been struggling is because we’ve had it pretty good here for quite a while! But as opposition to Jesus grows in our culture we should expect 2 things.

1) That persecution of Christians will heat up.

2) That the church will grow and become more healthy!

I think what the church in America will need the most in the coming decades will be a firmly grounded biblical theology of suffering. We will need to be prepared to lose friends, and even our jobs because of our faith in Christ.

Let me be clear here though. It’s our faith in Christ that should invite persecution NOT the fact that you are rude, obnoxious, and insensitive! Being a jerk for Jesus is not an honorable thing and dishonors the name of Christ!

Let me ask you church…Are you prepared to suffer for Jesus? You need to be because there are preachers and teachers out there who will tell you that persecution means you’re doing something wrong and that you should be experiencing your BEST LIFE NOW if you only had enough faith! That’s garbage —

Jesus want’s you to know that it’s normal…Jesus said this would happen! And it’s been happening since the first century, just not so much here while it’s been so culturally accepted.

So, church, don’t be discouraged when you meet opposition to the Gospel…just the opposite! Let it be a sign to you that you’re doing something right!

Okay, so, with Peter and John in custody, let’s move on to my second point — Interrogation…

Interrogation

V. 5 — Peter and John are brought before the Jewish leaders and religious elite…among whom are the same high priestly family who had Jesus arrested and delivered over to Pilate to be crucified! And they begin their interrogation with this question…”BY WHAT POWER OR BY WHAT NAME DID YOU DO THIS?”

Now verse 8 is really fascinating because it says that Peter was filled with the Spirit and THEN he began to speak. Is this not what Jesus promised in Mark 13:11

Mark 13:11 ESV

And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.

And when Peter begins to speak notice that he not only addresses this group of elites but in v. 10 he includes all the people of Israel! And he declares that it is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth that the man who was lame was made well!

But notice Peter’s boldness here when he reminds this group just who Jesus is (in case they forgot) — This is the same Jesus whom they crucified but whom God raised from the dead!

This is incredible…Peter is telling them that their plan didn’t work! This Jesus, who they humiliated, discarded, and crucified, is very much alive! And this meant they were in big trouble!

I love this! — We have to ask ourselves at this point in the narrative…”Who is really on trial here?” Clearly it’s not Peter and John any more! — They’ve flipped the tables on them!

Then Peter exposes their guilt even more by identifying Jesus with a prophecy in Psalm 118:22

Psalm 118:22 ESV

The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

He tells these religious rulers that they are the ones in this Psalm who rejected Jesus… BUT God, by raising Jesus from the dead has made Him the cornerstone.

In the first century Jewish world, a cornerstone was an ornamental stone that gave a building its dignity and meaning. The cornerstone also declared the building’s purpose!

In other words, Jesus was the defining foundation stone for a new temple…the church!

Now you’d think that Peter and John would be the ones needing to be saved from these religious rulers who had the worldly power to decide their fate BUT in v. 12 Peter makes a bold statement telling them that it’s they who need to saved! — And that salvation would be found in no one else but Jesus — they would need to surrender to very one they rejected!

And it’s the same for all of us today. In our sin we have all rejected Jesus as the only rightful king of our hearts. And this treason has earned us a physical and eternal death sentence. Our only hope for salvation is to surrender to King Jesus who laid down His life for ours as payment for our treason.

And Jesus is the ONLY name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Imagine you received a cancer diagnosis (some of you don’t have to imagine) — And your doctor told you there was a cure. Would you tell him you want to explore all your other options first? — NO! That would be foolish.

And in the same way it would be unloving for us to not plead with people to surrender to Jesus and be saved!

This was Peter’s message for the people…How would they respond? This is my final point…

Response

V. 13 tells us that the immediate reaction from the religious elites was that they were ASTONISHED!!! Why? Because of how bold Peter and John were in speaking with them! Not only that but they perceived these two to be uneducated, common men.

It was Doug Geeze who preached here in April on this passage who pointed out that the Greek word translated “Common” here is IDIOTES!!!

Peter and John were fishermen NOT scholars. They didn’t have PHD’s like Paul. They probably had something more like a GED. And to this, Luke tells us in v. 14, that these religious elites were speechless!!!

This is exactly what Jesus said would happen in Luke 21:12-15

Luke 21:12–15 ESV

But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.

So, this was awkward…the religious elites were speechless before these Spirit-filled IDIOTES!! So, the send them out of the room to confer with each other about what to do…

Now in v. 16 they ask a question… “What shall we do with these men?” — This the same question this same group asked about Jesus in John 11 after He raised Lazarus from the dead! This was a panicked question, that basically was asking… “What must we do to keep our power?”

The better question they should have asked was, “What must I do to be saved!” — But with the healed man standing beside them and their inability to deny this miracle, their hard hearts decide to cancel Peter and John, telling them to just STOP IT! — Just stop teaching about Jesus!

And Peter and John respond in v. 19 that while these religious elites may have lots of letters after their names…they are going to go with the guy who came back from the dead!

But what’s astonishing here too is the fact that not even an undeniable miracle was enough to bring these religious elites to faith in Jesus. This tells us something about what is required to believe. God needs to do a miraculous work in our hearts…opening our eyes to truly see the beauty of Jesus in the Gospel — Otherwise, no amount of miracles will ever be enough!

So, instead they try to stop the spread of their message because they loved their prestige among the people and the power and control it gave them.

And this can be a temptation for us still today…How often are you a closet Christian — silencing this same message of salvation out of fear of losing professional respect at your job? Or popularity at school?

Well, you’re in good company because here we see Peter and John — two ordinary, uneducated guys before the most intimidating group of religious elites there was — And they are boldly proclaiming their need for Jesus to them!

But it wasn’t always this way. Remember it was just weeks ago when Peter played the part of the coward and denied knowing Jesus before just a lowly slave girl!

So what changed? — Now Peter is filled with the Spirit! And this is good news for us today because Jesus is still present in ALL His people by the Spirit. This is why Luke tells us that these religious elites RECOGNIZED that Peter and John had been with Jesus!

And Matthew tells us the same thing — at the end of his Gospel, Jesus specifically tells us He would be with us in this very work until the end of the age.

And as long as Jesus is with us we will be unstoppable ordinary people!

There’s a popular Christian song you may have heard by Casting Crowns called “Nobody.” The chorus reminds me of us bold IDIOTES. I’ll end with this. It says…

I'm just a nobody Trying to tell everybody All about Somebody Who saved my soul Ever since You rescued me You gave my heart a song to sing

I'm living for the world to see Nobody but Jesus

Conclusion/Response (Gospel & Repent/Believe)

Text

Prayer

Closing Song: Crown Him With Many Crowns (#234)

Benediction

Ephesians 3:20–21 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.