The Lame Trial
Notes
Transcript
Notes:
Notes:
Main Players:
Sadducees:
Stott: “Wealthy aristocrats”
Beliefs:
Messianic age=Maccabean period (Messiah already came!)
Denied the resurrection of the dead
“They thus saw the apostles as both agitators and heretics, both disturbers of the peace and enemies of the truth.” Stott
v. 2: “Greatly annoyed/disturbed”
Who was the Captain of the Temple?
Chief of the temple police “who was responsible for the maintenance of law and order, and who held a priestly rank second only to the high priest.” Stott
Sanhedrin: 71 members presided over by the high priest.
Elders? “Clan leaders” (Stott).
Teachers of the law: scribes who copied the law
Annas the high priest, Caiaphas (Anne’s son-in-law).
Peter’s Defense (vv.8-12)
third time saying “You killed him but God raised him.” (2:23-24; 3:15).
Psalm 118:22:
Court’s Response:
Astonishment! Especially because they were uneducated (agrammatoi=no Rabbinic theological training)
People’s response: Grew to 5,000.
Peter and John were ‘professionally unqualified’
“Confidence about their message and empowerment by the Spirit.” (NIVAC)
Who are you?
Courage, uneducated
Outside needs to fit the inside
Courage in the message
Stand by Christ
What does it mean to have courage today?
Testimony vs. Evangelism: Roy Clements says, “Testimony is telling people what Jesus has done for me in my personal experience, but evangelism is telling people what Jesus has done for the world in history.”
Growing gap between leaders and the people
Uneducated vs. the Establishment
Introduction:
Who’s the leader?
Anxiety level is high
News interviewing professional therapists to talk about how to cope
WE WANT TO KNOW WHO’S IN CHARGE HERE!
This type of anxiety is similar to the anxiety that we read in our text:
LEADER= GREATLY ANNOYED, DISTURBED
“By what power or by what name did you do this?”
Who are you working for?!
Surely something more powerful than these two uneducated and unsophisticated can’t be working on their own!
Take us to your leader!
The Players
The Showdown
The Lessons
The Players
In this corner...
Priests=Mediators between people and God
Captain of the Temple= Temple Police
Sadducees= Wealthy Aristocrats
Buddy’s with Rome
Denied the resurrection of the dead
Messianic age=Maccabean period (Messiah already came!)
“They thus saw the apostles as both agitators and heretics, both disturbers of the peace and enemies of the truth.” Stott
Sanhedrin:
Annas (who used to be the high priest) and Caiaphas (acting high priest): Top Dogs
Rulers: Power
Elders: Authority
Scribes: Educated
Split court of Sadducees and Pharisees (scribes=lawyers)
70+1
Peter and John
David and Goliath
The Showdown
Greatly annoyed: Why?
- resurrection preaching!
Locked them up. Didn’t know what to do with them other them put a muzzle over them.
Cap the pot disturbers
Peter and John are faced by the most powerful religious leaders in town!
ONE QUESTION “By what authority or by what name did you do this?”
Peter answer:
I’ll tell you by what authority and by what name!
“Jesus!” “Jesus Christ of Nazareth”
The one whom you crucified!
Whom GOD RAISED FROM THE DEAD (GASP FROM THE SADDUCEES SECTION)
Throws scripture at them from Psalm 118: 22:
The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
6x NT references this passage!
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.”
SAVED=HEALED
Two Lessons in Futility
1. Muzzling the Mission
You can’t cap God’s road map!
You ever try to stop a wave? You can’t do it!
I was reading Ezekiel 47 this week? After chapters Ezekiel describing the coming a new temple, chapter 47 talks about water flowing out from the Temple! Water coming from this corner, and that corner, and every where!
The leaders were trying to muzzle a mission that was impossible to stop. This water was going to flow!
The Holy Spirit spoke through Peter, and that movement could not be stopped!
And that mission can never be stopped because we have the Holy Spirit today. We have that power, and the name of Jesus is imprinted upon us.
2. Sleuthing the True Thing
We have this miracle man standing in front the leadership (NEXT TO HIS NEW COMMUNITY IN CHRIST!).
IS THIS NOT SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE??
The leaders should have been rejoicing over what they just witnessed! They all know that this was a miracle. They can’t deny it, but they want to ignore it, stuff it, and contain. They don’t want the truth to be revealed that something miraculous and unexplainable happened without their authority and their name associated with it.
The leaders become a corporate sleuth of the truth.
This is an important lesson to consider for us today...
What we have to offer the world is something beautiful. Something amazing.
Things we CELEBRATE and DESERVE CELEBRATION will not be what others will celebrate:
We would celebrate the fact that while we were still sinners, God loved us
We would celebrate a troubled teen coming to Christ
We would celebrate when a woman chooses not to abort the unborn.
We would celebrate when someone chooses celibacy over same sex union
These are examples of healing and wholeness, and celebration and joy!
But not everyone will see it that way… They don’t see beauty it transformation, rather they see their loss of control or loss of authority— their worldview grinds against Christian conversion!
Sin is subjective, relative
That teen was brainwashed
That woman is being irresponsible and weak
That celibate is stuck in legalism
Peter’s like offended that these leaders aren’t celebrating with them, but that’s what happens when power and control are threatened, and it’s up to the Christian respond boldly...
What is defined as celebration worthy is a growing rift… And how we respond to that rift is really important...
Don’t Waver within the Wave
The Holy Spirit=water, To be consumed by it, to drown with Christ in it, and then to surf it like those crazy people who ride the world’s largest wave.
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