Faithful Proclamation

Context

With the sending of the Holy Spirit, that we saw described in Acts 2, many believed and were born again. Jesus has been boldly proclaimed in Acts 2 & 3, and while thousands professed Him as Savior and Lord, many rejected the claims of the gospel and those who proclaimed it.

Acts 3 began with the healing of a lame beggar. This man’s days began and ended with begging for alms, and one day, the Apostles Peter and John walked by him on their way to the temple. Their response to this man’s request for alms comes from Peter in verse 6:

Acts 3:6 ESV

6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”

And the man did just that. He got up and walked. In fact we are told that this man began to leap for joy, and of course that got the attention of everyone. And this one lame now leaping man clung to Peter and John while all the people gathered around to see this miracle, and Peter took advantage of the opportunity to preach a sermon. His sermon was bold, confrontational, full of grace and Christ-exalting.

But as I noted before, the ministry of the apostles, while used by God to bring many to Himself, also attracted the attention of many powerful people who rejected Jesus. People who were regarded as important, insightful, influential rejected the gospel, and were determined that it stop being proclaimed. While the times are different and circumstances are not the same, we are familiar with this tension. The gospel must be preached, but there are many, some of whom are more influential and powerful than us, who don’t want it preached. What’s the right response?

Read Text

Acts 4:1–12 ESV

1 And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand. 5 On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 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. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 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.”

Introduction

Do you recall what happened between Jesus and the people of Nazareth in Luke 4?

Jesus comes to His home town - Nazareth.

He goes to the synagogue and reads from the book of Isaiah (Isa 61:1-2)

Luke 4:18–19 ESV

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

After reading these words, Luke tells us that Jesus gave the scroll back to the attendant and sits down. All the eyes of the people in the room are fixed on Him.

The Jesus says, Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing (21).

And that was received well. We’re told that all spoke well of Him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from His mouth.

But then Jesus said this:

Luke 4:24–27 ESV

24 And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

And when the people heard these words, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath.

They didn’t want hear anything else from Jesus. What He said offended them. When Jesus points out their unbelief and proclaims that God shows His grace to outsiders like the widow at Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian, then they drove Him out of the town and attempted to kill Him.

It’s not like Jesus was surprised or caught off guard when the people reacted to Him this way. He knew He would be rejected, yet He said what He said anyway.

Jesus told His disciples His disciples something sobering before His death and resurrection:

John 15:18–19 ESV

18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

We do not follow Jesus because it is easy. We do not obey His words because we expect the world’s affirmation of that way of life.

But when followers of Christ are faced with the unpleasant response of the world that our following of Jesus often provokes, we need to be clear on what we must do. Are we to back off. Perhaps, tone it down a bit. Not cave in all together, but soften just a little. Tone down the exclusive nature of the gospel. We might believe that Jesus is the only Savior and there is no other, but maybe we don’t need to emphasize something so offensive to so many people. Or maybe we don’t need to highlight people’s sinfulness so much. We believe that the total depravity of man is true, but it’s difficult to hear and certainly an unpopular message that people are sinful and need a Savior for the forgiveness of their sins.

Do we feel the pressure to do this? Jesus was driven out of town and His audience sought to throw Him off a cliff. What effect are the potential unpleasant consequences to have on the church, who has been called to preach the gospel?

FCF

The church may be tempted to withhold the gospel when confronted with the world’s rejection of it.

We may have a certain intuition that wants to lead us away from the conflict. We don’t want to invite more difficulty in our lives than what already exists. If people don’t want us to preach the gospel… to make too much about Jesus… we may be tempted to acquiesce. But you and I cannot trust our intuition or look to it for what we should believe and do. If we desire to honor God, we look to Him and His word for direction. When confronted by the world, we must look to God. And when it comes to the world’s rejection of the gospel, we need to be clear.

Main Idea

The world’s rejection of the gospel must be met by the church’s faithful proclamation of it.

As we move forward through this sermon, I want to emphasize the word faithful in that last statement. The world’s rejection of the gospel must be met by the church’s faithful proclamation of it. There is no half measure in preaching the gospel. When the world rejects the gospel, we must respond by proclaiming it, but doing so faithfully. Not softening it, compromising it, being ambiguous in our declaration of it. Exercising discretion and discernment as we interact with people? Yes. I encourage you to listen to Andrew John’s sermon on Acts 17 from last week to consider that idea more.

The most living response there is to people’s rejection of the gospel is to proclaim it to them. Not out of anger, or a desire to one-up them or to agitate them or to prove them wrong. We respond this way out of a love for God and compassion for the lost.

But we do need to understand the consequences of faithful gospel preaching.

Analytical Question

What must the church know about the faithful proclamation of the gospel?

The gospel dismantles the world’s objections to it. (1-4)

The objectors (1)

Who were the objectors? Look at verse 1:

the priests: those in charge of the temple. Significant authority over the Jewish people.

the captain of the temple: a member of the high-priestly family. In charge of security at the temple. He was in charge of keeping order. Keep in mind, the temple was the center of life for these people. All the pilgrims went there. All the sacrifices are made there. He’s in charge of the temple police.

the Sadducees: there were four sects of religious leadership among the people. The Pharisee, the Sadducees, the Essenes and the Zealots. We may be most familiar with the Pharisees and Sadducees. The Pharisees were the more conservative ones. They cared very much about the law and piety. The Sadducees, who are mentioned here, were more on the left. They were often in cahoots with the Romans. They would give cover to the Romans in exchange for help from the Romans.

Now, among the groups mentioned in verse one, there were some differences between them, but what they had in common on that day is mentioned in verse 2: they were greatly annoyed.

The word annoyed is rare in the NT. It appears here and in Acts 16 where a demon-possessed girl was following the apostle Paul around, and after some time we are told that Paul became greatly annoyed and commanded the spirit to come out of here in Jesus name.

Before looking at what annoyed Peter and John’s objectors, I want us to consider that we are not called to be annoying in our efforts to proclaim Christ. We have no call to be obnoxious, insulting, rude. This is not why the people were greatly annoyed with Peter and John, and if people are going to be annoyed with us because of our commitment to Christ, it should not be because we are being rude and obnoxious.

OK, but what were the objections of these objectors?

The objections (2)

Acts 4:2 ESV

2 … because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

So, there are three reasons they were annoyed

Because they were teaching in the temple precinct. In the minds of these objectors, these no body from no where men had no business teaching anywhere, especially near the temple. That was their turf.

Because they were proclaiming Jesus. Remember these leaders considered Jesus to be a trouble-maker. They wanted Him dead, and they killed Him. They were glad He was gone, and they didn't want Him brought up in a positive light anymore. They objected to Jesus being thought of as anything else other than just another Galilean hick like Peter and John, and anyone who claimed Him to be the Son of God, the Messiah, Savior was causing trouble, making chaos and needed to be silenced.

Because they were teaching about the resurrection. Verse 2: they were proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. Now it could be that they were teaching the Jesus was risen from the dead. It could be that they were teaching that because Jesus is risen from the dead, all those who follow Him will one day rise from the dead. Either way, this would have been rejected by this group. They didn’t believe that Jesus was the Messiah. They did not believe that anyone would experience a resurrection as a result of placing their faith in Him, and the Sadducees didn’t believe in a resurrection at all. Later in Acts, this is made clear:

Acts 23:8 ESV

8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.

Just a side note, notice their theological differences, and this difference is not minor, was no match for their hatred for and rejection of Jesus. This is ultimately what unites the world against the church is their hatred for and rejection of Jesus. Don’t loose sight of that.

So this group is greatly annoyed because these two apostles were teaching people where they should not be teaching about a man who they rejected on a subject they did not believe.

But, their annoyance was not just fueled by what they considered to be presumptuous behavior from the apostles.

Persuasive (3-4)

I suppose there is a fourth reason for their annoyance. Peter and John were persuasive. The objectors arrested them and put them in jail over night.

But notice in verse 4

Acts 4:4 ESV

4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.

We know from Acts 2:41, the number of people who came to faith in Christ was about three thousand. Now it was up to five thousand.

This group of religious leaders thought Jesus and anyone who followed Him were absurd. They believed the message of the gospel was ridiculous, and anyone who proclaimed it or believed it was foolish.

It is important for you and I to think through the objections to the gospel today and have biblical responses ready. It is worth our time and effort to understand our culture to be effective evangelists. But never loose sight of this fundamental and important truth: God continues to save people today and He uses the proclamation of the gospel to save.

The salvation of souls dismantles the world’s objections to the gospel. People seek to dismiss this as much today as it has been dismissed throughout history, but God saves sinners, and He uses the proclamation of the gospel to save.

Something else the church needs to know about the faithful proclamation of the gospel…

The gospel discredits the world’s claim of authority over it. (5-7)

The gospel dismantles the world’s objections to it and it discredits the world claim of authority over it.

Now, how is this claim of authority displayed?

Through intimidation

On the next day you have an even more intense gathering - verse 5

rulers - the chief priests

elders - civic leaders and tribal heads

scribes - the scholars and teachers of the law

So, so far we have the academy, the state and chief religious leadership

Then in verse six, Luke records some names. Individuals who were present

Annas the High Priest - the High Priest from AD 6 - AD 15

Caiaphas - the son-in-law of Annas and was the High Priest at the time - AD 16-36 - a contemporary of Jesus and a contemporary of Pilate.

John and Alexander - not sure who they are but

So, this was meant to be a scene of intimidation. The top leaders and officials in Judaism gathered together to examine these two men.

And notice what it says at the beginning of verse 7:

Acts 4:7 ESV

7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired…

The Sanhedrin, which is who this body is (verse 15 identifies them as the council - Greek word is Sanhedrin) would gather and arrange themselves in the half of a round threshing floor so they could see one another, and it is likely that they put Peter and John in the center of their gathering.

Peter and John were supposed to be intimidated by all of this. They were in the midst of the top leaders of their people. We’re not told how Peter and John were feeling in this moment. Were their hearts racing? Were they making eye contact?

We don’t know, but what we do know is that Peter and John were willing to respond to their tactics with truth. We’ll get to what Peter says in a few moments, but church; does evangelism intimidate you? The same revilers and rejectors of Jesus are in the world today. Maybe some of us will respond with hearts beating out of our chest, and with stuttering words and shortness of breath, but we need to be ready to respond with the truth.

Their presumption of authority is seen through intimidation and

Through inquisition (7)

Notice the question the council asks at the end of verse seven:

Acts 4:7 ESV

7 … “By what power or by what name did you do this?”

Now, let’s keep the context straight here. They are referencing the miracle that was done in chapter three. The healing of the lame beggar. They are asking by what power or by what name did you heal that man?

They knew the answer to the question. There was no denying that the man who was lame from birth was now healed. He was jumping around for joy over his healing. They knew by what power and by what name he was healed.

Acts 3:12–16 ESV

12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? 13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. 14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 16 And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

That’s by whose name this man was healed. Jesus.

Peter made very clear that the man was healed had nothing to do with himself or John. There was nothing special about them. Their personal holiness was not the healing agent. It was the power of Jesus. It was the name of Jesus. The Righteous One, who is risen from the dead who grants restoration. Who gives salvation.

But again, the council knew how they would answer. So why ask the question? Because the questions are really statements. Who do you think you are to do such a thing. You have no authority here. We are the authority. You need to stop what you are doing. You need to stop talking about Jesus. And perhaps most importantly, you need to obey us. Do what we say.

All teaching, healing, worshipping, serving, sacrificing… all of it is to be done by our authority.

Who gave you this authority? How dare you come near our temple and do these things in the name of Jesus!

The question, by what power and by what name did you do this, is a difficult question not because the answer was difficult to know but because it must have been difficult to say. Again, this was an intense inquisition.

And again, what crucial is not eloquence and composure. What’s crucial is what follows.

So, we have suggested that the world’s rejection of the gospel must be met by the church’s faithful proclamation of it. But we need to know that the faithful proclamation of the gospel:

Dismantles the world’s objections to it

Discredits the world’s claim of authority over it

and finally

The gospel declares the supremacy of Christ to a world who rejects Him (8-12)

Peter responds to the disingenuous question, but notice what is said about him in verse 8: filled with the Holy Spirit. Peter was about to proclaim a message that was fueled by the power of the Spirit. It seems to me, based on the grammar here that what Luke is saying about Peter is that Peter already had the Spirit, and because He had the Spirit, what he was about to proclaim would be Spirit-filled.

Now, I want to take just a moment to consider how Peter could have answered, but did not. He could have answered

by the God of Israel. That’s the power with which we did this. That would have been true… a safe answer.

He could have claimed ignorance. He could have claimed that he did not know there was anything wrong with what had happened. He could have assured the council that it wouldn’t happen again.

But he does not do this. He does not seek to offer a safe answer. He does not wordsmith to be just vague enough to avoid further punishment beyond a night in prison and this inquisition.

Now, he begins with a display of respect for those he was addressing: rulers of the people and elders (8). Again, Peter did not think his call was to be obnoxious or rude.

He continues in verse nine to lay the absurdity of this trial out there. we’re being examined because we healed a lame man. But since you asked the question. Since you want to know by what power or by what name we healed this man, I will tell you.

What describes Peter’s declaration?

Unashamed (10)

Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel…

In other words, Peter is not ashamed to declare it was Jesus. He wants the leaders and anyone else who will listen to know, he did what he did in the name of Jesus.

Church, we have no reason to apologize for the supremacy and exclusivity of Jesus. He is the only way.

And Peter says in the middle of verse ten, by the name of Jesus Christ… (end of verse ten) by Him this man is standing before you well. No hesitation. No hedging. Fear did not hold Peter back.

A pattern that we see in the book of Acts is a consistent, persistent speaking in the face of opposition.

Peter’s sermon in Solomon’s portico:

Acts 3:13–14 ESV

13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. 14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,

After the apostles’ arrest and miraculous release from prison, Peter proclaimed:

Acts 5:30–31 ESV

30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

And here in Acts 4, Peter is going out of his way to be very clear and direct that they killed Jesus or Nazareth (end of verse 10). The same Jesus whom they crucified.

As noted before, Caiaphas was there among the council. We know him from the gospels.

Matthew 26:57 ESV

57 Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered.

Matthew 26:59 ESV

59 Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death,

So, we might imagine that when Peter said in verse 10, Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom you crucified, Peter looking at Caiaphas as he said those words.

Peter was unashamed in his proclamation.

Something else we should note about Peter’s proclamation. Not only was it unashamed, but it was

Unambiguous (10)

What does Peter make crystal clear in his sermon?

Man is sinful. Peter’s audience was guilty before God. They crucified the Messiah.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been this long now, but about twenty four years ago, I was serving as a Youth Pastor fresh out of college. As many youth groups do during the summer, we were on a mission trip, and the place we went was Boston, MA. Our primary focus was Open Air Evangelism, and if you ever see Open Air Campaigners approach, they will set up an easel in a crowded area, and paint to present the gospel. Our group would go with an Open Air missionary to various parts of Boston and watch his presentation, and often others would gather around to watch as well. If they stayed through the entire presentation, we would have the opportunity to engage them about what we watched and heard. There would be times that nearly fifty people would be gathered, but more often than not, a majority would leave before the presentation was concluded. It was when the subject of sin was brought up. When it was declared that there is no one good, no not one. When our need for a Savior because of our sin and our guilt was brought up, we saw many walk away. It’s a hard message. But our need, people’s need for a Savior exists because of our sin. This needs to be proclaimed. With wisdom and sensitivity, but it needs to be clear that all people need forgiveness from God.

Jesus died for sinners. Again, Peter said very clearly that Jesus was crucified. In verse eleven, Peter makes clear that Jesus was rejected by man, and in verse twelve he connects all of that to the salvation of people. No other name by which we must be saved. Yes, the death of Christ shows the guilt of man, but it also provides salvation to man. As the refrain in the familiar hymn says:

Jesus paid it all,

all to Him I owe;

Sin had left a crimson stain,

He washed it white as snow.

Jesus rose from the dead. His resurrection confirms that His sacrifice satisfied our debt. Man crucified Him, but God raised Him from the dead. He was the Messiah they had anticipated. Man’s striving against God is always in vain, and the resurrection demonstrates this than anything else.

I realize that for anyone who may be here today who is not a Christian, some what has been said here today is difficult to hear. In fact, it can be difficult for us all. When we think about our sin and our guilt and our need for forgiveness… to some it is sobering and to others it is offensive.

But what I want us to also see, in light of the resurrection of Jesus, is that we can stop exhausting ourselves in our futile efforts to work against the will of God. Again, man’s striving against God is always futile. Are you looking for rest? Are you longing for relief from the burdens with which you contend? Come to Jesus who, out of His love for sinners, died for their sin and rose from the dead. He’s alive, and He welcomes sinners to come to Him in faith. Lay down you weapons. Be relieved of your burdens. Receive salvation.

Peter also makes clear that:

Jesus is who we have been waiting for.

I think everyone has a sense of longing and anticipation. We are waiting for relief and something better. Peter addresses this in verse eleven:

Acts 4:11 ESV

11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.

What’s the imagery here? Well, Peter is quoting from Psalm 118:22, but what builders would do is assess the quality of the stones they had to choose from to build structures. And what Peter is saying in verse eleven is that you presumed to be in a position to assess Jesus, and you rejected Him, but what you rejected as a worthless stone has become the cornerstone. Literally, Peter says that Jesus has become the head corner.

Now, we might think of the foundation of the building when we see cornerstone. The stone that orders and supports the rest of the building. Here, the imagery is different. Jesus was the stone that man rejected, but God raised Him up and made Him the head corner. In first century, the head corner was a reference to the final capstone placed at the summit of the Jerusalem temple to complete the whole edifice.

Jesus was who they had been waiting for. Jesus is who you have been waiting for. He is the crown jewel, the final piece that brings the whole thing together.

Conclusion

But the world rejects the gospel. Peter and John were used to heal a lame beggar. Peter and John were used to bring many to faith in Christ. But Peter and John were also the objects of much ridicule, and hatred and violence because of their ministry in the gospel. The world rejected the gospel then and it rejects the gospel now, and the temptation has always been to respond to this reality with silence. To respond by not proclaiming the gospel. Or maybe to proclaim a softened, compromised, slightly ambiguous gospel.

Peter’s message in verse twelve, no other name was not a popular message in the Roman world, and we know it’s not a popular message today in our context. You see, you could hold to almost any religious convictions in the Roman world, as long as you were willing to add to them. You could believe you were right so long as you did not suggest that anyone else was wrong. Sound familiar?

And even among the Jews, this was not a popular message. The Jews were monotheists, and they were not about to entertain the idea that they should worship a man who was condemned and killed.

We don’t preach the gospel because of its popularity.

Have you ever had the following thought or perhaps you have spoken to people who have expressed this. The thought is:

Listen, I hear what you’re saying about Jesus and I can tell He’s very important to you. And I don’t have a problem that you believe all those things, and I even have a level of admiration for you because you believe so strongly and certainly. All I’m asking is that you allow that what I believe can be right for me. Can’t you be content to believe what you believe and even talk about what you believe, but just don’t insist that I believe it or say that what I believe is wrong.

How do we respond? We know how Peter responded. No other name.

It’s important for us to keep in mind what we’re dealing with here. This is a matter of life and death. In a world that suggests that people can do what they want, be who they want and believe what they want, we need to be clear regarding this idea that thew gospel’s insistence that other gospels, other beliefs are wrong is offensive or even harmful.

If someone were to tell you that they believed they could fly, and that they wanted to show you they could fly by jumping off the roof of their house, would you affirm them in their belief. Would you be content to say, well I don’t think you can fly, but if you do, who am I to say you’re wrong? Of course not. We dealing in absurdity here. Even our own culture would have to admit that anyone who made this claim and attempted to demonstrate this claim by jumping off a roof needs psychiatric assistance.

But there is so much more at stake with the person who wants us to concede that their beliefs about God can be right for him even if it is different from what the gospel claims. We must say, with love, no!. There is no other name. Eternal life is a stake here.

What is the most loving thing we can say to a person who is crippled by guilt over past behavior that has had devastating consequences on their life and the lives around them? No other name.

What is the most loving thing we can say to the person who believes that gender is fluid, and people are free to identify as who they want to be? No other name.

What is the most loving thing we can say to a dishonest politician who seeks to legislate policy and law that rejects the law of God and will result in the crumbling of our society? No other name.

Please understand, I know it’s not quite that simple. We should want to say more than that, but if our concern is not to get to that, and make that as clear as we can, and to not to present it as winsomely as possible, we are not expressing true love. And it should be said, no other name should never be used as an in your face phrase. We do not use the name of Jesus to provoke anger in others. We do not use the name of Jesus to humiliate others. We use the name of Jesus to proclaim Him as superior over all people and all creation. We use the name of Jesus to proclaim Him as the way of salvation. We use the name of Jesus to call sinners to repentance and faith. He is our message. He is love.

So, the world’s rejection of the gospel must be met by the church’s faithful proclamation of it because there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.