Obeying God or Man (Acts 4:13-22)

Introduction

English Standard Version Chapter 4

13 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. 14 But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. 15 But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 16 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. 17 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.” 18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 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, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” 21 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. 22 For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.

This week we’re picking back up in Acts chapter 4 with the disciple’s first head on confrontation with the Jewish authorities since Jesus’ crucifixion. If you recall, it all started back in Acts chapter 3 when Peter and John healed a lame beggar on the steps of the Temple in Jerusalem, which (as you can imagine) created quite a stir amongst the people at the Temple, so much that the religious leaders couldn’t ignore it.

So, in Acts chapter 4 we’re told that as Peter and John were “speaking to the people, [that] 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.” In fact, they were so bothered by what Peter and John were teaching the people that they took them into custody until the next day.

That following day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together with the high priest and his family to interrogate Peter and John. They asked them, “By what power or by what name did you [heal this man]?” And Peter boldly responded by asking them whether they were being examined because of a good deed they had done to a crippled man? And if so, then let it be known that this man was made well by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom they crucified, and whom God had since raised from the dead. This is why this man is standing before you well!

They would have denied it if they could have

Now, remember, these were the same authorities who had handed Jesus over to be crucified, so they wouldn’t have taken kindly to Peter’s words. In fact, had it not been that everyone in Jerusalem had bore witness to this miraculous sign they surely would have had them permanently imprisoned, or worse, condemned to death, but their hands were tied, because even the man who had been healed was standing beside the Peter and John at their hearing! And this is where we pickup there in verse 13,

English Standard Version Chapter 4

13 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. 14 But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. 15 But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 16 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.

In short, this miraculous sign had effectively stopped their mouths, it had shut them up, because they could not deny it, in fact, the sign was standing right in front of them. And as a result, unless they were willing to embrace the unassailable truth that Jesus was Lord, as evidenced by this miracle (and the many that had come before it), this was an affront to their authority, it put them at odds with Jesus and his disciples, because, make no mistake, despite the fact that this sign was undeniable, they would have denied it if they could have.

Do not harden your heart

I’ve been asked many times over the years why we should believe the miracles that were performed by Jesus and his disciples, and while there are multiple reasons, one of those reasons is that not even their most hostile of witnesses ever attempted to dispute them, they weren’t even willing to try. Not once are the miracles performed by Jesus and his disciples ever disputed by his detractors, instead they were either silent or resorted to ad hominin attacks, that is, playing the man rather than the ball. For example, in Matthew 12 all they could do was resort to making claims that his miracles were demonically inspired. Why? Because they could not argue against them, they could not deny them, because they were indisputable and performed before their very eyes. You see, these miracles testified that Jesus was from God, and that his words were true.

You see, the problem was never with the quality of Jesus’ miracles, the problem was with the hard-heartedness of those who refused to believe. They didn’t want to believe. As I’ve pointed out many times before, man’s unwillingness to come to Christ is not a problem rooted in a lack of evidence (despite man’s claims to the contrary), no, it’s a sin and rebellion problem, which is what’s on full display here in Acts chapter 4. Therefore, let us take heed, lest any of us likewise harden our hearts against the clear testimony of Scripture, or as the psalmist put it in Psalm 95:7-11 when he described the hard-heartedness of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness, he writes,

English Standard Version Psalm 95

Today, if you hear his voice,

8  do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,

as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,

9  when your fathers put me to the test

and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.

10  For forty years I loathed that generation

and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,

and they have not known my ways.”

11  Therefore I swore in my wrath,

“They shall not enter my rest.”

So, the admonition here is simply this, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts,” do not go astray in your heart, submit to Christ.

Hands tied

Now, what are they to do with them? If the Jewish leaders will not submit to Christ, then what are they to do with Peter and John who have become a real pain in their neck? How do they keep them from teaching the people in the name of Jesus as a result of this miracle? How can they stop these men who have become a threat to their power and authority? Well, they can’t just put them to death like they did Jesus, at least not now, at least not yet, because that would risk making martyrs out of them, but if they simply let them go they risk the problem getting out of control. They’re between a rock and a hard spot. This miraculous sign, of which all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were witnesses, has tied their hands. So, what are they to do? Well, we continue reading there in verse 17,

English Standard Version Chapter 4

17 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.” 18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 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, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” 21 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. 22 For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.

There ya go, that’ll work! Since you can’t condemn them in front of the people, just tell them that they can’t talk about Jesus anymore, that’ll work! Now, I’m sure they realized that their threats were pretty hollow, but what else were they to do under the circumstances?

Obey God or man?

Now the boldness of Peter and John compelled them to respond, and they answered them there in verse 19, saying, “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.”

Now, I want you to consider for a moment just how cutting their response would have been. Their response made it abundantly clear to everyone in the room that they had two options, either they listen to the Jewish Council or they listen to God! In other words, they made it clear that the Council stood in opposition to God, not just merely to them! And if that wasn’t enough, they made it abundantly clear that they had no intention of submitting to the Council’s ruling, for “we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”

Now, I’m sure most of us have had moments when those who are under our authority have stubbornly refused to listen to us, whether it was a child, an employee, or a younger sibling, and how infuriating it can be to have your authority undermined. And in the case of the Jewish Council, they had become tyrants who maintained their control by keeping the people afraid of them, and now they were being challenged and undermined by a couple of defiant, uneducated, common men from Galilee! Can you imagine how difficult it would have been for them to restrain themselves in that moment? But they had no choice, they had to 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.

So, not only did the disciples humiliate them in front of the people by demonstrating that they were opposing God, but when they tried to silence the disciples anyway, the disciples defiantly told them no, in front of everyone. This was not a good day for the Jewish Sanhedrin. Their true motivations had been exposed and they inadvertently put themselves in a situation where the disciples could defy them and get away with it, in front of everyone. Talk about undermining their authority and control. They must have been piping mad!

Parenting application

Now, parents, if you have young children under your roof, the one thing you don’t do is let one of the children get away with disobeying your rules or instructions, especially not in front of all the other children. Why not? Because it won’t be long until you have a mutiny on your hands. It won’t be long before your children realize they can disobey your rules and get away with it if they just throw a temper tantrum, argue with you, or pull on your heart-strings, and all of a sudden you’re not in charge anymore.

Civil disobedience

Now, in the case of the Jewish Council, they forfeited their authority the moment they abused it, they forfeited it the moment they tried to leverage it to their own advantage and to oppose God with it. Which raises the question, what are we to do in circumstances like these? Are we to listen to God or listen to men? Is it ever legitimate to disobey the authorities?

Well, that’s a great question, and I think the answer is probably self-evident now, based upon the disciple’s response to the Jewish authorities here in Acts chapter 4. Yes, there are times when it is legitimate to disobey the authorities. Now, Scripture clearly teaches that God has ordered the world by various authority structures (e.g. the state, the church, the family, and others institutions) and that we’re intended to submit to those authorities in varying ways and in varying degrees, but it’s important to recognize that none of these institutions possess supreme or final authority, none of them posses divine authority, and therefore do not possess the right to usurp God’s divine authority.

You see, in a very real sense, the gospel is fundamentally a political statement, that Jesus is Lord, that Jesus is King of kings and Lord or lords. In fact, one of the earliest confessions of the church is that Jesus is Lord. And he’s not just the Lord of your heart or of your life, but of everyone, unbelievers are obliged to obey him just as much as we are, whether they acknowledge him or not, all of us are held accountable to God’s law. However, in our country we’ve become steeped in this idea that church and state should be separate, and what people usually mean by that statement is that God has no place in government. Now, if you simply mean that church and government are different authority structures or possess different spheres of authority, then amen, but to assert that God has no place in government is both ignorant and foolish.

You see, if there is no God above the state then where does it derive it moral standard for making its laws to govern? If there is no God above the state then from where does it derive it’s authority to rule? Does the state posses divine authority, vested in its rulers, vested in it’s legislators, its supreme court, its president, or its king, divine authority like Caesar claimed to posses in Rome?

Well, if not, if the government isn’t God, then who is? Are the people, a nation’s citizens, gods, are they the final arbiters of truth, deciding right from wrong? This would be what we call a pure democracy, a government ruled fundamentally by demos (day-moss), that is, Greek for “the people.” Do the people determine right from wrong and good from evil by popular vote? Do the people possess divine ultimate authority? Well, biblically speaking, neither the state or the people possess divine authority, rather Yahweh is God over the state and the people. He is the only final arbiter of truth, of what is good and evil, and the state is intended rule by the authority delegated to it by God, to make and enforce laws based upon God’s moral standards of justice. And we’re expected to obey those authorities because their authority comes from God.

However, when a government or the people assume the prerogatives of God, exalting themselves to the heavens as it were (like those at the Tower of Babel), as though they were God, they unavoidably put themselves at odds with God and his authority, and as a result, increasingly find themselves at odds with God’s law. And it’s at that point, we will inevitably find ourselves in circumstances that give us no choice but to obey God rather than men, when men oppose God. When men assume the prerogatives of God and seek to usurp his authority, we must obey God rather than men. In fact, in Acts 5:29, the disciples find themselves, again, in hot water with the Sadducees, when the high priest and the Jewish Council arrest them and put them in prison, after they’re miraculously released by an angel the chief priest reminds them that they had strictly charged them not to teach in Jesus’ name, we’re told that Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.”

Examples of civil disobedience

And there are many other examples like this throughout the Bible. For example, when Pharoah ordered the Hebrew midwives in Egypt to kill all the newborn Hebrew boys, we’re told that the midwives feared God more than the king, and so they disobeyed Pharoah and let the boys live. In fact, we’re told that God blessed the midwives with families of their own for their faithfulness. (Exodus 1:15-21)

Or in Jericho when, Rahab, a prostitute, hid Israelite spies who were sent by Joshua, defying her city’s authorities who sought to capture them. Acting out of faith in the God of Israel, and as a result her family was spared during the city’s destruction.

Or when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, while living in Babylon under King Nebuchadnezzar, were commanded to bow to a golden idol or face fiery death, they chose death in a fiery furnace. Yet when they were put in the furnace they were miraculously unharmed, leading the King of Babylon to praise Yahweh. (Daniel 3)

Or when Darius, King of Persia, issued a decree forbidding prayer to anyone but himself for 30 days, Daniel deliberately went upstairs to his room where he had his windows open toward Jerusalem, got down on his knees and prayed, repeatedly each day, giving thanks before God as he had always done. His prayers were deliberately public and he knew they wouldn’t go unnoticed, and even his enemies anticipated his disobedience to the king’s decree, and we’re told that they deliberately gathered together to witness Daniel’s defiance. And as a result, Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den, but was miraculously protected from harm by an angel who shut the lions’ mouths.

You see, the government isn’t God, it’s intended to serve God, or as the Apostle Paul would later put it in Romans 13, that the government is God’s deacon, that there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. So, on one hand, whenever the government governs righteously and in concert with God’s law we’re commanded to submit to our authorities, knowing that “whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed,” but on the other hand, whenever the government usurps its authority, opposes God, and requires what God forbids, we must obey God rather than men. You see, we must obey our rulers, but never at the expense of disobeying God.

This is why, for instance, some of the COVID era mandates became so controversial for so many Christians, whether it was baring churches from gathering to worship or later forcing a vaccine upon the population. At first many of these policies were enacted on the premise of protecting life, something that Christians could normally get behind, but as the months rolled by it became increasing clear that the danger was not as it seemed at beginning, and that some of the mandated precautions were giving people the false impression that they were protecting their neighbor’s life when in fact they weren’t, and all of a sudden many Christians were faced with an increasing dilemma of conscience.

“I was just obeying orders”

Furthermore, it’s important to remember that “I was just obeying orders” is never an excuse for disobeying God. For example, after WWII, when German soldiers who had participated in genocide stood trial for their war crimes at Nuremburg they said, “I was only obeying orders,” but their excuse did not hold up in court. The court determined that the solders should have disobeyed their authorities rather than commit genocide.

Cost of obedience

Now, it’s also important to realize that obedience to God in circumstances like these can be very costly. For example, one friend of mine who’s in the USCG lost his job after decades of services for opposing homosexuality and refusing to take a COVID vaccine, he lost not only his job, but his pension too. Thankfully, after years in court he was recently reinstated, restored to his previous rank, given back pay, as well as his pension, including all of the years he missed. Yet, not everyone is so fortunate to be vindicated in this life.

As I was meditating on this text I was reminded of what Jesus had taught his disciples throughout his earthly ministry back in Matthew chapter 10. He told them that he was sending them out as sheep in the midst of wolves, to beware of men, because they would deliver them over to courts and flog them, that brother would deliver brother over to death, that they would be hated by all for Jesus’ name’s sake, that they must be willing to take up their cross and follow him, that they must count the cost, and be prepared for what would come as a result of their allegiance to Jesus. Likewise, it’s important that we too count the cost.

Rejoice and be glad

And to remember that Jesus also taught his disciples that blessed are you when you’re persecuted for righteousness sake, to rejoice and be glad for great is your treasure in heaven. Not to fear those who kill the body, but who cannot kill the soul, rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father, but even the hairs of your head are numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven.

It’s important that we remember that the preaching of the gospel, our zeal for righteousness, and our allegiance to Jesus will frequently result in conflict, that Jesus did not come to bring peace but with a sword, so it should not surprise you when conflict follows on account of those pursuits, and don’t let conflict cause you to shrink back, or to recoil, don’t let it cause you to shut your mouth, don’t let those who oppose the truth silence you, like the Sanhedrin sought to do with Peter and John.

Prayer

With that, let’s pray....