In the Name of Jesus

MARCH 27, 2022 STUDY NOTES ACTS 4:1-10 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES IN THE NAME OF JESUS INTRODUCTION In chapter 4, Peter and John are called before the Jewish council to be questioned and challenged They were questioned because of what had happened in chapter 3, the healing of the lame man The lame man had been healed “in the name of Jesus,” Act 3:6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. In his first sermon following Pentecost, Peter had preached to the Jews “in the name of Jesus,” Act 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. In chapter 3 a crowd gathered because they saw the healed lame man walking, leaping, and praising God Peter took the God-given opportunity to preach to them “in the name of Jesus,” Act 3:16 And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. In Acts 4, “the name of Jesus” is an important subject, Peter was prepared to present its truth and power The Jewish council knew that some miracle working power had healed the lame man, Act 4:7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? Peter’s answer was, Act 4:10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. Peter presented how important the “name of Jesus” really is, Act 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. The Jewish Council did not agree with Peter, Act 4:17 But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. Act 4:18 And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. The church responded with a prayer request, Act 4:30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. In Acts 4 we find the beginning of Satan’s persecution upon those who preach “in the name of Jesus” Throughout the book of Acts we will find Satan persecuting those who live for and teach Jesus Satan’s persecution of Christians has never ceased throughout the world since Acts 4 It continues today and the greatest days of Satan’s persecution are yet to come Our generation could be that generation that will witness those days of Satan’s wrath, Mat 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. (Study Matthew 24) Act 4:1 And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, The activity in the temple drew the attention of the authorities, especially the “captain of the temple” He was in-charge of maintaining peace and order in the temple, it was not a normal day in the temple Things had certainly got out of order because of the healed lame man and his Pentecostal fit His disturbance had disturbed the leaders of the temple, word had spread throughout the Temple The “priests” were the ceremonial officials who offered Temple sacrifices Page 1 of 4 The “Sadducees” were liberal religious leaders, mostly worldly men of wealth and influence Many church leaders of today are chosen because of wealth and political influence (Not at PGBC) The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, which is why they challenged Peter and John, Mat 22:23 The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, From the time of the healing of the lame man until their arrest was about 3 hours (Acts 3:1; 4:3) The council was mostly disturbed because of the continual teaching and preaching of Peter and John And especially because of their sermon subject, “In the Name of Jesus,” who was alive Act 4:2 Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. Verse 2 is a good guideline for teachers and preachers, teach the people and preach the Living Lord The Jewish Council was “grieved” because of Peter’s teaching and preaching “In the Name of Jesus” Their grief came as a result-of their guilt, they had crucified Jesus as a blasphemer Peter preached that God raised Jesus up and why God had raised Him up, Act 3:26 Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities. The resurrection of Christ is a fundamental doctrine that must be preached and believed, Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. How important is the truth of the resurrection of Christ? Read and study 1 Corinthians 15 before Easter Act 4:3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide. They put Peter and John in jail overnight because Jewish law did not allow a trial at night “Eventide” would be late afternoon when the evening was about to begin, and it was too late for a trial Peter and John would be brought before the council the next day for a trial hearing Act 4:4 Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand. “Howbeit” is a word of praise, there is a contrast, there was salvation even in the time of persecution Peter, John, and the followers of Jesus were now going to face the beginning of persecution upon them We will often find the church being persecuted in our study of Acts, but the church will continue to grow The early church experienced massive growth, Act 2:41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. Act 2:47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. Now in Acts 4 the “number of men” that believed was about five thousand Peter does not use the word which refers to humankind, describing all of humanity, men, women, children He uses the Greek word which refers to males, therefore the 5,000 does not include women and children It is not clear whether the 5,000 refers to the number saved on this occasion, the events of chapter 4 Many believe that it refers to the total number of believers so far, known as the Church Which probably exceeded 10,000 believers by the time of Acts 4 (Acts 2:41, 47; 4:4) This is the last time that a specific number of believers is identified in Acts But the growth of the church is often described (Acts 5:14; 6:7; 9:31; 11:24; 12:24; 16:5; 19:20) Throughout the Church Age Christians have been persecuted, but the church lives on, as Jesus promised, Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Page 2 of 4 Persecution of the church scattered the church and spread the gospel, Act 8:4 Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word. Persecution of the church advanced the preaching of the gospel, Paul is an example, Php 1:12 But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; Php 1:13 So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; Php 1:14 And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. In America Satan’s number one effort against the spreading of the gospel is not persecution but pleasure Many Christians are more concerned about seeking pleasure than spreading the gospel (2 Tim. 3:1-5) But the day of persecution is fast approaching the American Christian and the True Church Consider the setting of Acts 4, we find simple living fishermen facing the ruling authorities of the land How is that going to turn out? Peter and John turned it all over to the Holy Spirit Act 4:5 And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, These men of position and authority made up the Jewish ruling body known as the Sanhedrin The Sanhedrin was the Jewish Supreme Court, made up of the most prominent religious leaders They knew about God, but they didn’t have a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ Throughout the church-age there will be those who claim religion but don’t know Jesus (Matt. 7:21-23) Act 4:6 And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. “Annas the high priest” was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, he was “high priest emeritus” He had been replaced by “Caiaphas,” who was the high priest at the time of the crucifixion of Jesus Apparently, many of the Jews still considered “Annas” to be their “high priest” It is believed that “John” was a relative of Annas and a member of the Sanhedrin “Alexander” was probably a leader of the priestly party in Jerusalem and a member of the Sanhedrin The word “kindred” identifies with a family, the Sanhedrin was a family opposed to the church family Act 4:7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? “Them” refers to Peter, John, and the healed lame man, he was with them, Act 4:14 And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. Three men facing the Sanhedrin Court, 70 men plus the High Priest, consider the odds (wait until verse 8) This is the same council that Jesus had stood before, Mat 26:57 And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. Caiaphas had questioned the name and authority of Jesus, Mat 26:63 But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Peter and John now stand before Caiaphas representing “Christ, the Son of God” For the Sanhedrin this was not a praise and worship God service as a-result of the lame man being healed They were concerned about an unknown power in their midst, a supernatural healing power The question of “by what name” has to do with authority, the authority within a name, “what name?” They knew what had been done, but their question was how was it done? Peter had already identified “the name of Jesus” to the crowd that had gathered (Acts 3:11-26) Act 3:16 And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. Peter and John were on trial before the Sanhedrin, but Peter puts them on trial before God Page 3 of 4 Peter again takes the God-given opportunity to preach in the name of Jesus, his fourth already in Acts There will be many more speeches and sermons by Peter and others representing the “Name of Jesus” Act 4:8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, This is an important verse for us, it gives us the answer to the question, how do we face Satan’s attacks? How can we stand and face opposition and persecution as a Christian today? How can we continue to speak for Christ when we are threatened? Peter is an example Peter was prepared to preach because he was filled with the Spirit, he was controlled by the Spirit Jesus had made a promise to His disciples, He knew what was going to happen, Luk 12:11 And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: Luk 12:12 For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say. Peter was prepared to face all circumstances of life, he could remain faithful in the time of persecution He could preach in the name of Jesus with power and conviction, even before the authorities Peter immediately identified their authority, “you rulers of the people, and elders of Israel” Identifying them as those who were to be concerned about the welfare of the people, even the lame man Which was a psychological move, he turned the tables on them, challenging their concern Act 4:9 If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; Peter made a point, you have us on trial because of a good deed done for a citizen, a cripple man? Which was a good introduction to his sermon, you are questioning the wrong ones, we didn’t do it You are looking at us, what an opportunity for Peter to present the “Name of Jesus” Act 4:10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. Peter quickly answered their questions, he begins with, let everyone know, everyone must know His name is Jesus, He is the “Jesus of Nazareth,” and He is the “Christ,” Anointed One, Messiah “Whom you crucified,” this is the third time Peter has accused the Jews (Acts 2:22-24; 3:12-14) And then Peter proclaims the basis of the preaching of the gospel, “whom God raised from the dead” Scripture is filled with the evidence that Jesus is alive, the healed lame man is one of them “By Him doth this man stand here before you whole,” look at him, listen to him He stands physically and mentally well, from his feet to his head he is sound He is spiritually well, he is shouting praises unto God, Act 3:8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. CONCLUSION Different denominations today place a strong emphasis on different Biblical truths For some the emphasis is upon baptism and the Lord’s Supper, for some it is speaking in tongues For some it is divine physical healing, for others it is financial giving and tithing All of which are important truths, but cannot be foremost to the Biblical truth of salvation, Act 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. There is nothing more important than to proclaim the “Name of Jesus” Be sure you are filled with the Spirit and take the “Name of Jesus” with you everywhere you go Page 4 of 4