Text: Acts 4:13-22 Title: Life in Christ Sermon by Joey McLeod 11-10-2013 Calvary Presbyterian Church Mize, Mississippi The Name of Jesus Forbidden 13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. 14 And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. 15 But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, 16 saying, “What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name.” 18 So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” 21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done. 22 For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed. Last week we saw Peter and John arrested and brought to trial for healing a crippled man. Peter proclaimed that the power that healed this man was the power or the name of Jesus Christ if Nazareth, the stone which they had despised, but whom God made the chief cornerstone by raising him from the dead. This is the first in a series of persecutions upon the young church. Luke is thus giving us a pattern of the life of the church, a pattern of what we are to expect when we stand and proclaim the name of Jesus. In this text we have an example of how we as Christians are to react, and live in light of this resistance. As believers, we are called to stand boldly against the resistance of the world to Christ. Boldness It wasn’t supposed to be this way. This was the most powerful body in all of Jerusalem, and here stands Peter and John lecturing them and even accusing them of wrongful acts. There was no fear in their eyes. There was no cowering or bowing down. But rather this body of men listened and Luke says they saw their boldness, or courage. It was probably rare that anyone would stand up against them with such great courage, much less lecture them in this manner. It was certainly unheard of for ones who were common and uneducated, who had not been trained in their “seminaries.” They were fishermen after all, not scholars and rulers! Yet, they see the boldness of these common, uneducated men and the once crippled man standing by their side now healed and they are amazed. Further more, they have no response. They are left speechless with no answer. Luke has already given us the source of this boldness before Peter’s speech in verse 8, “Then Peter filled with the Holy Spirit said to them.” As we saw last week this is exactly what Jesus had told them before his ascension, go to Jerusalem wait for HS, you will receive power to be my witnesses through out Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria to ends of the earth. This is now coming to pass as Peter has boldly and powerfully testified concerning Jesus. Luke has recorded Jesus’ words to the apostles in his gospel 21:12ff. “They will lay hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness… do not meditate about how you will answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.” Jesus words are coming to pass right before our eyes. Luke gives us another hint at the source of this boldness, which goes hand in hand with being filled with the spirit, from the eyes of the Sanhedrin. As they beheld the boldness of Peter and John, they recognized or made the connection that these men had been with Jesus. They had probably recalled that Jesus, a carpenter’s son, had silenced even greatest of minds that had opposed him, in like fashion to Peter. They might have even remembered seeing them in the company of Jesus as he taught and performed miracles. But here is what I want us to understand, the only way that we will be able to withstand the persecution and resistance of the world with boldness is to be with Jesus and be filled with the Holy Spirit, just as was Peter and John. Now granted, we can’t be with Jesus in the same way as Peter and John, but we can have a relationship with Jesus that is just as strong. We are with Jesus when we immerse ourselves in his word where Jesus speaks to us most clearly, which gives us boldness. We are to immerse ourselves in prayer, where we speak to him and he speaks to our conscience thru his Spirit, which gives us boldness. We are to be with Jesus in worship as we gather together with the body of Christ all one united to him by faith, which gives us boldness. Satan far too strong for us to overcome on our own, and only way we can stand boldly against this world is to be with Jesus being filled with Holy Spirit. Oh that the world might see the boldness of God’s people as we resist its temptations and know that we have been with Jesus. Hardness After hearing Peter’s response to their inquiry, by what name or what authority, and beholding boldness, and seeing former cripple standing with them, they send them out. They ordered them to depart began conversing with one another what to do? They had a huge problem because they could not deny that a notable sign had happened that day. They knew it, all of Jerusalem knew. Word had spread everywhere, and the man was standing there right as they spoke. But on the other hand, if they let these two go forth unchecked, they would certainly turn the people against them. They have just accused this body of despising and putting to death the Messiah, the stone which is the chief cornerstone. So they make a decision to call them in and command them not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus to anyone, at any time. These were stern warnings given – not once, but twice. I think Luke wants us to see two things in the response and reaction of the Sanhedrin; beginning with him wanting us to see the hardness of the heart of sinful, fallen man. He uses the word sign to describe what had happened with the healing of the cripple, meaning that it pointed to something, or directed to something. Luke has made it perfectly plain that they saw the man standing there healed in their midst and that everyone knew it was no hoax. Verse 16 a notable sign had happened was plain… we are not able to deny. Yet, in spite of the sign being plain, and known, and not able to be denied, they never understood that it was directing them to Jesus as the corner stone. The heart of fallen man is so hardened by sin that even the plainest of signs are useless unless God makes a change of heart. Wasn’t that the point of Jesus’ parable of the rich man and Lazarus. When Lazarus begged that someone go warn his brothers the response was, “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced is someone should rise from the dead. It is why Jesus said you must be born again; it is part of the New Covenant promise that I will give you a new heart. Secondly, I think Luke wants us to see the powerlessness of those who resist and persecute God and his people. Yes, I understand that in this day and time the authority of the Sanhedrin was limited, particularly in the punishment they could give out. But they had more authority than simply to warn them, and would have had God not worked powerfully to aroused the people to such an extent that the Sanhedrin was scared to act for fear of the crowds. That is the teaching of God’s word all the way through. The world may and will persecute the church, but its authority and power are limited. The book of Job teaches us that Satan has great power to do lots of evil, but his power is limited by God. Jesus told us to not to fear those who could harm the body, but not the soul, but to fear the one who could destroy both body and soul. This world may resist and persecute and cause great harm, but the power of those who resist God and his people is powerless before God and his purposes. This idea is summed up in v21, “not finding any way to punish them because of the people since they all glorified God.” This should give us great confidence as we go out into this world to bear witness to the King. Authority Ultimately this comes back to authority. Who has authority? Isn’t this always the question since the Garden of Eden even unto today? Who has the power and who has the authority. Ultimately sin is rejection of the authority God for our own authority. That was the question that they posed to Peter, by what power or what name did you do this – what authority? They had no true interest in the truth, because they saw the man standing; their issue was in someone challenging their authority. Jesus said I am sovereign. I am the Messiah. I am king and I am the one who has all authority in heaven and on earth. The name of Jesus was an affront to the autonomy and authority of man, and in the eyes of sinners must be resisted at all costs. It’s the same reason the world resists the God and his truth today, the gospel says Jesus has true authority to forgive sins, and only Jesus has true authority. Peter understood that this is what was at stake when he boldly responded, “You judge whether it is right before God to listen to you rather than God.” This must have shocked them. First of all because Peter is basically looking them in the eye and saying I will not heed your command. You say don’t teach, I say that I must obey God… I must teach. You think that you have authority, I must obey God and not you. It must have also been a shock because Peter was telling them to their face that they were not listening to God, rejecting God’s authority – they were opposed to God. These were the “religious” leaders, elders, high priests, Scribes… Peter was in essence saying that they had abused their authority and were working against the purposes of God. Peter’s word of course brings before us the relationship between the world and the church, or worldly authority and the authority of God. It tells us how we are to live in this age. The Bible absolutely teaches that God is sovereign over the authorities of the world. He is the one who sets kings on the throne and dethrones kings. The Bible also teaches in passages such as Romans 13 that his people are to submit to this worldly authority, because it comes from him. Even those things, those policies, the laws that we may not like if passed by governing authorities are to be obeyed by his people. But they are to be obeyed only as far as they are in concert with and not against the commands of God. If it comes down to obeying man or God, then there is not option for God’s people, we must obey God rather than man. But this also means being willing to suffer the consequences for disobedience, on and earthly level. But the Bible also teaches us that all earthly authority is derived authority and as such it must come in submission to the authority of God. When a leader, or government is out of step with the commands of God, then they are at fault and must seek repentance for their sin. Whether that leader is a governor, a senator, a president, or even a father who is the head of his household. All people of authority will give account to their actions before God. Have I used that authority in obedience to the commands of God? In a world that resists God and his anointed one, what does it mean to obey God rather than man? What does this mean in the every day life of God’s people? It means that we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard, as testified by the Word of God through the prophets. You see, if we have been with Jesus and are filled with the Holy Spirit, then we cannot keep quiet about him. We are compelled to tell of his greatness, and his works and his power and his authority and his salvation. And we do it boldly, even in the face of persecution, even in the face of resistance and in the face of danger. Oh that this were the testimony of all who call themselves Christians, who carry his name. Oh that all Christians would say I cannot but speak about those things which I have heard and those things I have seen. If you have been with Jesus, then make this your testimony! May we be a church that is known for not being able not to speak of those things that we have seen and heard. May we be a church that when other see our boldness they will look and know that we have been with Jesus.
Posted on: Sun, 10 Nov 2013 21:21:36 +0000
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