Atos 4

Atos 4

Chart from Jensen's Survey of the NT - used by permission THE EXPANDING WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT-EMPOWERED CHURCH Acts 4:1 As they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them, KJV Acts 4:1 And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, the priests Acts 4:6; 6:7,12; Mt 26:3,4; 27:1,2,20,41; John 15:20; 18:3 the captain of the temple guard. Acts 5:24,26; 2 Chr 23:4-9; Luke 22:4 the Sadducees came up to them Acts 23:6-9; Mt 16:12; 22:16,23,24 Acts 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries THE BEGINNING OF THE WAVES OF PERSECUTION Persecution is defined as hostility and ill-treatment, especially because of race or political or religious beliefs, causing the persecuted person to suffer because of their belief. And so chapter 4 is more than a historical record. It is a template for all disciples of Jesus to follow when (not if) persecution comes. Acts 4 is one of those chapters in which we would do well to spend focused time, meditating and soaking up the truths, so that they may become part of our innermost being (cf Jn 17:17). Peter and John's response to persecution teaches us how we are to respond to persecution. The exhortation from the writer of Hebrews is apropos... And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. (Hebrews 6:11-12) God desires us to become imitators of men like Peter and John, so that we can weather the waves of persecution that are sure to come our way. And so we see the beginning of the waves of persecution crashing against the Body of Christ in Acts 4. I am looking over the sea as I write these words, and it strikes me that those waves are a perfect picture of the "waves of persecution" that come against believers -- some days the waves are small, but other days like today they are large with whitecaps everywhere, and whether small or large, one can always count on the waves coming one after another, because God controls the "pulse" of the ocean. And so too the Sovereign God controls the events of our lives, so that we can be sure that waves of persecution will come throughout our life, sometimes barely imperceptible, but other times like a hurricane. Are you experiencing a wave of persecution? God is in control and He has given us His Spirit and His Word in Acts to be our compass and guide to bring us safely home to our eternal destination in Christ. Note the progression from Acts 3 into Acts 4 - healing led to preaching which led to persecution. Note that the persecution came from the religious establishment, the Jewish leaders, just in the case of the Lord Jesus. Peter and John were surely not surprised for Jesus had taught them "Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also." (Jn 15:20) The old adage was playing out - forewarned is forearmed! Peter the denier, had become Peter the proclaimer and in fact passed along a similar warning to every saint of every age - "Do not be surprised (present imperative with a negative = Stop this or don't let it begin) at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you, but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ (THIS IS THE KEY POINT), keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory (SECOND COMING - cf 1 Jn 3:2-3+, WHO YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IN THE FUTURE, WILL IMPACT HOW YOU ARE LIVING TODAY!), you may rejoice with exultation (IN OTHER WORDS A CROSS PRECEDES A CROWN! KEEP YOUR EYES FIXED ON THE END OF THE RACE, NOT THE "HURDLES"!)." (1 Pe 4:12-13+). In his last letter (written from prison and just prior to his martyrdom) Paul wrote words which could be emblazoned across this chapter Indeed ("now in fact" - NET), all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. (2 Ti 3:12+) Several truths can be gleaned from Paul's warning... (1) Indeed means in truth and often tends to intensify what follows. One dictionary adds it is "used to emphasize a statement or response confirming something already suggested." In fact in context Paul had just emphasized persecutions and sufferings were his lot in his ministry in Christ (2 Ti 3:10-11). (2) All means no exceptions -- if the following condition is fulfilled. (3) Godliness is to be the desire of our heart. (4) Godliness is only possible as we abide in Christ Jesus. (5) Godliness will incite ungodliness against us. (6) Persecution is a promise - it is will come, not may come. (7) The Greek verb for persecution (dioko) means to be chased after, like bloodhounds chase after a fox seeking to tear it apart! Here is the point, followers of Christ should expect persecution and not be surprised by it or caught off guard. I was not taught this principle and was so caught off guard by persecution from people within the church that I was tempted to give up on ministry because of the cost. You have probably had a similar experience. As an aside, this is one of those "promises" you will probably not find in "God's Book of Promises!" Sermon by the great revival preacher George Whitfield who suffered persecution (often severe) daily! - Persecution: Every Christian's Lot So as a believer you can be sure that you will be persecuted in some way for the Name of Christ. You may not be tossed in jail like the apostles, but it may come in the form of verbal attacks such as accusations of being considered "narrow minded" or intolerant. It might come in the form of government restrictions imposed for perceived discrimination against certain people. It could be by being ridiculed, rejected, misunderstood, stared at, ostracized or "cold shouldered" by others. It could be persecution that negatively affects your job and hurts economically. So count on it -- you will experience opposition because of your faith. Are you willing to suffer persecution for the sake of (potentially) winning one lost soul to Christ? Have you taken the "risk" to witness (ever?, this past year? this past week?)? See Barna's fascinating study Is Evangelicalism Going Out of Style? What's the one (good) thing Christians will no longer be able to do in Heaven? Share the Gospel. Be filled, be ready, be witnesses! (Acts 1:8+). So GET WITH IT - this is your (one) "chance of a lifetime!" Only one life, twill soon pass, only what's done for (in) Christ, will last! And do not be worried is you don't lead them to Christ! Sown seed is never wasted in the field of our Sovereign God! (See Mt 5:16+, Da 12:3+, Ps 126:5, Eccl 11:6). Jesus warned that persecution would be the expected lot for His followers “If (THIS MEANS SINCE- IT IS A SURE THING) the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. 19 “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates (present tense = continually) you. 20 “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. (Jn 15:18-20) So Jesus says the world (unsaved) persecutes us is because they hate Christians. And they hate Christians because they hate Jesus Christ. And they hate Him because He is so different they are. That is the implication of Jesus' words "because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you." If you behaved like the unsaved world, they would not hate you, but they would love you for you would re-enforce the way they live. But because we are so different from the world, they hate us. And they may not even understand fully why they hate us, but the fact remains. Our new and godly way of living and thinking is a "rebuke" to their sinful, ungodly way of living and thinking. And so they persecute us, just like the persecuted Jesus. And Jesus goes on to identify the source of persecution - the religious establishment, the Jewish religious authorities... “They will make you outcasts from the synagogue (EXCOMMUNICATION), but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God (THEY THINK THEY ARE HONORING GOD BY KILLING "HERETICS"). (Jn 16:2) As they were speaking to the people - Note the "they" (auton = plural) suggesting that not only was Peter speaking but John was also speaking. Since Peter and John have been at the Portico of Solomon for about 3 hours (~3 PM - Acts 3:1, ~6 PM - Acts 4:3), it is possible that at this point they were each answering individual questions from the audience. Speaking is also in the plural (compatible with both Peter and John speaking) and in the present tense (continually). So as they continued speaking they were rudely and suddenly interrupted. POSB notes that the religious leaders "thought they had eliminated the "Jesus movement" eight weeks earlier when they had crucified Jesus. They had heard about the preaching incident several days earlier and how excited the people had become (Acts 2:5f). Now these two men (Peter and John) were publicly preaching the rumor that God had raised Jesus from the dead. And they were preaching, of all places, in the temple precincts. It was time to investigate the matter, to nip the movement in the bud before it could spread. Note those who came to arrest them. (The Preacher's Outline & Sermon Bible – Acts) J Vernon McGee speaks of the source of persecution - "I have found that the biggest enemies of the preaching of the gospel are not the liquor folk. The gangsters have never bothered me. Do you know where I had my trouble as a preacher? It was with the so-called religious leaders, the liberals, those who claimed to be born again. They actually became enemies of the preaching of the gospel. It was amazing to me to find out how many of them wanted to destroy my radio ministry." The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them - One would have thought just the temple guard would have been sufficient, but these religious bigots come with a "show of force" much like they did when Jesus was arrested (Jn 18:3 = "Roman cohort, and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees"). The only major difference between the two groups was that the Sadducees replaced the Pharisees. The Romans did give the Jews permission to police the Temple area with their own "police force." Priests (2409)(hiereus from hieros = sacred, holy, consecrated to God, used as a noun to mean a sacred place or temple, cp Mark 11:11; cp English derivative "hierarchy" = leadership) is a sacred or consecrated person who serves deity. Priests in the NT refer primarily to the ceremonial officials of Jesus' day, that group of men who offered Temple sacrifices and carried out the other sacred rites associated with the Jewish Temple and Jewish people (cp Heb 8:4) In this context the hiereus were ordinary priests who conducted the evening sacrifices (cf Acts 3:1) and they "were divided into twenty-four courses and were chosen by lot to serve at a given time. They had eagerly anticipated their week to minister and were no doubt upset at the disturbance Peter and John had caused." (MacArthur) Captain (4755)(strategos from stratós = an army + ágō = to lead) literally referred to the leader of an army or the chief legal official of a city. In this passage strategos refers to the official (who was also a priest) second only to the high priest who was responsible for order in the Temple and was known in Jewish writings as "the man of the Temple Mount." Knowling adds that the captain "had the chief superintendence of the Levites and priests who were on guard in and around the Temple, and under him were strategoi, who were also captains of the Temple police, although subordinate to the strategos as their head." (Expositor's Greek Testament) POSB adds he "was the right-hand man, the chief executive officer or chief of staff to the High Priest." A T