The Gospel Spreads

Acts 3:1-10; 4:5-31

Intro

As students settle in, ask them to think of people who were accused of something they didn’t do or a situation in which someone made a false accusation about them.

On a dry-erase board or large poster board, jot down some of the names and situations they describe. Then ask:

How did these people respond to the accusations?

What happened as a result?

Through Peter and John, God healed a lame man, and they made sure everyone knew the man was healed in Jesus’ name and authority.

They were arrested because the religious leaders didn’t like what they were teaching about Jesus and the resurrection of the dead.

Instead of backing down or arguing, Peter simply presented the gospel.

The religious leaders couldn’t find anything against them, so Peter and John were released.

Even in the midst of seemingly bad circumstances, we stick to the truth, proclaim the gospel with boldness, and trust God with the outcome.

Following the arrival of God’s Spirit, which now was dwelling inside of God’s people, the disciples’ lives began to change.

These once timid and fearful disciples became bold communicators of the gospel and were able to even perform signs and miracles that validated the truthfulness of their message and mission.

Circumstances in our lives sometimes lead us to make risky decisions or do brave things because of a sudden burst of boldness and daring.

Many stories of boldness are obvious and familiar, like the mother who sees her child in harm’s way and confronts a grizzly bear, a moving car, or a rattlesnake.

Something that would normally make someone run away in fear can be confronted with boldness (and a surge of adrenaline).

Firefighters, policemen, and EMS workers often make bold and fearless decisions in moments of crisis.

The stakes aren’t always life and death.

Pursuing a career of almost any kind takes boldness, as does trying to be an artist or an entrepreneur.

In all of these cases, boldness leads to something good.

Boldness saves lives and allows us to pursue our dreams and callings. Boldness leads to love, reconciliation, and the deep community that can only thrive in a family.

Being a Christian in the world we live in today demands a certain kind of boldness in the face of this spiritual resistance.

We live in a world where faith and spirituality are constantly resisted, where the vast majority of the ideas shaping our world treat God as though He were unnecessary or nonexistent.

And Christians believe some daring (or audacious) things: God made the world, sin broke it, and God is reconciling all the world to Himself through Jesus—­His Son who lived, died, and rose again.

Simply confessing this belief is a bold claim and living it out demands even more boldness.

What bold acts have you taken in your life?

What were the results?

We will see one of these miracles and its outcome.

Christian boldness isn’t something we simply have to work up for ourselves; it comes through faith in Jesus and through the gift of His Holy Spirit, who empowers and gives us the boldness to live for the glory of our Savior.

Jesus deserves first place in our lives, which will be reflected in our actions for His name’s sake.

If we are convinced the gospel is true, then we must act on what we believe, asking God for boldness and then proclaiming the truth.

We should be compelled to say and do bold things for the sake of the gospel.

When Christians are bold in their faith, the gospel will spread.

PETER AND JOHN HEALED A MAN

Acts 3–4 tells a story of Spirit-empowered boldness.

Peter and John healed a crippled man and had to deal with some of the consequences of following in Jesus’ steps.

1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 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!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8 And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. …

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.” (Acts 3:1-10; 4:5-12)

Peter and John may have seen this same man many times before, since the Scriptures tell us the man was carried to this gate to beg every day.

Yet on this day, they noticed him.

The Spirit of God led them to pay attention, and Peter was moved to offer the man much more than he asked for.

In a public space, for all to see, Peter told the crippled man to get up and walk.

The man took Peter’s hand, stood, and began walking, leaping, and praising God.

BEING A 30 YEAR OLD MAN— I can tell you that when I am sitting on the ground cross legged or what have you I am not able to leap from that place— it takes a bit.

Peter seized the opportunity to speak to the gathering crowd about Jesus being the crucified and risen Messiah, in whose name this healing occurred (Acts 3:11-26).

After being arrested for this scene (Acts 4:1-3), Peter and John were called before the Jewish leaders to explain themselves.

Don’t miss the tension of this moment.

They healed a crippled man in a public setting in the name of a “convicted heretic” these leaders had killed.

This wasn’t merely a theological exam; this was a life-and-death encounter with authorities who had a distinct interest in silencing anyone doing anything in the name of Jesus.

Peter’s response to their interrogation was revolutionary.

He could have sought to save his own skin, deny any knowledge of the events, or minimize the involvement of Jesus’ name.

Remember Austin’s message- (Let’s not forget that denying Jesus was something Peter had struggled with before.)

Instead, he confronted them directly.

He defied their hatred of Jesus and clearly accused them of murdering the Messiah.

Peter was not trying to be a hero by taking a bold stand and defying the religious authorities.

He was simply telling them the truth about who Jesus is—the cornerstone of all creation, the only source of salvation in the world.

This marks the difference between spiritual boldness and being a jerk—Peter wasn’t just trying to prove a point, he was pointing to Jesus.

Peter allowed his Spirit-filled witness to be driven by his Jesus-focused worship.

Now next we see the aftermath of Peter speaking so boldly

PETER AND JOHN WERE THREATENED BY THE AUTHORITIES

The Jewish leaders knew they were facing a crisis.

They had executed Jesus as a heretic, but His followers continued to carry out miraculous works in His name.

The religious leaders wanted to manage the crisis.

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. (Acts 4:13-22)

Rather than own their obvious failure to recognize Jesus or acknowledge the miraculous work being done in front of them, they chose to try and silence it, not unlike how they paid the soldiers to say Jesus’ disciples stole His body from the tomb (Matt. 28:11-15).

This reaction isn’t something new.

Throughout the past two thousand years, efforts have been made by religious, political, and cultural leaders to ban the name of Jesus and to silence His followers.

We need three things to resist the pressure to minimize Jesus,

First, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus—on who He is and what His life, death, and resurrection have accomplished for us.

Second, we need the gathering of God’s people.

When we gather with the church, we’re reminded that we’re citizens of a different kind of kingdom, and we’re under a different kind of authority than the political and social kingdoms we live in now.

Third, we need the boldness that comes from being filled with the Holy Spirit.

According to Acts 4:19-22, Peter and John were prepared for this moment.

Filled with the Spirit of God, they answered their oppressors with faith and boldness, refusing to deny Jesus in order to satisfy the Jewish leaders.

So in short they were unafraid to share the Gospel.

GOD’S PEOPLE ARE UNAFRAID TO SHARE THE GOSPEL

After standing up to the Sanhedrin, the apostles went back to the church. Take a look at what happened next:

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. (Acts 4:23-31)

There’s an important connection here between bold prayer and bold ministry.

After a string of Spirit-filled ministry victories, even in the context of an unjust imprisonment, the church responded by seeking God in worshipful prayer.

These Christians were extremely aware that all that had happened—the healing, the bold confrontation with the Jewish leaders, the favor of the crowds—was the work of God, and more specifically, the work of the Holy Spirit.

In response, the church looked to God and asked Him to continue His work.

They prayed for continued boldness, for healing, signs, and wonders to happen in the name of Jesus.

99 Essential Doctrines: Personality of the Holy Spirit

The Bible not only affirms the full divinity of the Holy Spirit but also His personhood. Many people have mistakenly believed that the Spirit is a force or power, not a person.

However, Scripture affirms His personhood by acknowledging that He is treated as a person (Acts 5:3; 7:51; Heb. 10:29), acts like a person (John 14:26; 15:26; Rom. 8:14), has attributes of a person (1 Cor. 2:10-11; Eph. 4:30), and acts in personal ways (Isa. 63:10; Acts 13:2). In addition to these, the Bible also affirms that Christians relate to Him personally (Acts 5:3-4; 7:51).

CHRIST CONNECTION

Once the Holy Spirit arrived, the disciples began proclaiming Jesus as Lord and Savior.

They put on display the power of His kingdom by performing miracles in His name.

When confronted by earthly authorities, they reaffirmed their allegiance to Jesus and continued to declare the gospel with confidence that Jesus is mighty to save.

So how are you making Jesus known to the world today?

If you were there with Peter and John, or faced a similar situation today, how would you respond to the leaders’ questions?

How do you think people today would respond to what Peter said about Jesus being the only One who can save?

What bold acts have you taken in your life? What were the results?

How do you think your life would change if you prayed with the same kind of boldness as the early church?

What are some ways that we can share the Gospel with others today?