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Divine Disobedience
Context:
Peter has made it very clear that Jesus alone is the way to heaven. That is always a tough message for people to hear. People don’t like elitists who think that their way is the only way. But in this case Peter and John were hardly elitist, instead they were Biblicists. So let us proceed keeping the context in mind. The world will say that we are narrow-minded, but we should be narrow-minded because the road to heaven is a narrow one! And so our gospel presentation should not be broad but narrow. We live in a day where people seem to want to make the road to heaven wider, but Jesus said it is narrow.
Acts 4:13-22
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. But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 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. 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." So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 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, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard." 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. For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.
Three expectations we must have if we are going to be a bold witness:
I. |
We must expect to Confound the world – vv. 13-14 |
Acts 4:13-14
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. But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.
These leaders were facing a dilemma. How could they portray Peter and John as “bad” guys now that the lame man has been healed?
God’s power always confounds the world. They were amazed at their boldness (the word literally means “freedom in speaking”), especially given the fact that these were mere fisherman. They didn’t graduate from Harvard or Yale! They didn’t even graduate from LU! Even in their culture some thought that they were better than others due to their education. Some of that exists in our culture. They were thinking, “how could these men be so certain and bold about anything since they are uneducated (this word can also mean “illiterate”) and untrained (this word also means “ordinary”). But they were wrong—as usual! Peter and John would never be allowed to teach at a Bible college because they didn’t have a degree. They would have a difficult time getting the opportunity to pastor a church because they didn’t have a degree.
But Peter and John received quite an education. You know many of those who go to seminary get a M.Div., which is typically a three year degree. Peter and John spent three years at Jesus Theological Seminary! And they may not have had to write any term papers or write a thesis or dissertation, but they were doing the ministry. That is the best education you can get. This is the very definition of a “hands-on education!” And these Jewish leaders finally realized that they had been with Jesus. They said, “we know where these men got this teaching from.” Now they wanted to say something to combat the message that Peter and John were preaching. There was a major problem facing them though:
Acts 4:14
But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.
One of the signs that authenticated the gospel message was standing right in front of them. And notice Luke’s wording here, he purposely uses the word standing. That was, indeed, the miracle. So these Jewish leaders were baffled, even though they were so educated. Now there is also a play on words by Luke which his hearers would have picked up on. You see the Greek word for “resurrection” is anastasis. The word for “standing” is stasis. In the Greek mind those who were standing were resurrected and those who were dead were lying down. So this lame man who was standing before all to see, was a symbol of the gospel—specifically the resurrection! The irony here is this: Peter’s words, which were given him by the Holy Spirit, were silencing the very ones who wished to silence Peter and John!
So the Sanhedrin had to huddle together to come up with a game plan because they were confounded by the gospel message.
II. |
We must expect the world to try to Constrain us – vv. 15-18 |
Acts 4:15-18
But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 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. 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." So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
So they decide that if they can’t slain them they will try to silence them.
So these men are like some politicians. They are not concerned with the truth, they are only concerned with keeping their authority. They knew that everyone saw that the man born lame was made whole. So they knew that they could not change the minds of those who witnessed this miracle, so they figured that they would do the next best thing. And the next best thing is to make sure that their message does not spread any further.
Now look closely at v. 17. Notice the word “it.” Typically a word like "it" would be defined by its antecedent idea. In this case the antecedent would be the word “it” at the end of v. 16. And that refers to the healing of the lame man. However (and this is why I am pointing this out), the “it” in v. 17 is not speaking of the miracle but of the gospel. The miracle was a sign to authenticate the gospel message, but the Sanhedrin wanted to stop the spread of the gospel.
It's interesting that the Sanhedrin did not even know exactly what the gospel was. This is why they referred to the gospel as “it.” They don’t even know exactly what it is they are trying to stop. But what they do know is that it threatened their authority.
It is kind of like the American Atheist organization. It was founded by Madalyn Murray O’Hair. They don’t know Who they are combating. In fact, they claim to be combating a God that doesn’t exist. Let me give a brief synopsis of O’Hair’s life. Before divorcing her first husband, O’Hair had an affair with a married man and her first son, William Murray was born. Then in 1954, she gave birth to another son, Jon Murray from a different man.
In 1960, O’Hair filed a lawsuit against the Baltimore, Maryland School District in which she claimed it was unconstitutional for her oldest son William to participate in Bible readings at Baltimore public schools.
In 1963, this suit reached the United States Supreme Court which voted 8-1 in her favor, effectively banning "coercive" public prayer and Bible-reading at public schools in the United States. In 1965, O’Hair then founded the American Atheists. Now it gets good, listen to this! In 1980, her son William was saved at a Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, and he became an evangelist! O’Hair had this to say after her son became saved: "One could call this a postnatal abortion on the part of a mother, I guess; I repudiate him entirely and completely for now and all times...He is beyond human forgiveness.”
And what became of O’Hair herself? Well, in 1995 she mysteriously disappeared (along with her son Jon and granddaughter). In 2001 their remains were found buried in the Texas sand. O’Hair liked to hire murderers who did their time in prison but were not remorseful for their crimes. Well, one such man killed them. The remains exhibited such extensive mutilation and successive decomposition that identification had to be made through dental records, by DNA testing, and in Madalyn O'Hair's case, by her prosthetic hip. It is a dangerous proposition to be an enemy of God! She got prayer out of School, but she couldn’t get Jesus out of her son, William!
The bottom line is that the world hates the gospel, even though they don’t really know what it is! The Sanhedrin were basically like the Supreme Court and as such they were the administrative body of the Jews. They consisted of 71 members including the High Priest. Most of the members of the Sanhedrin were Sadducees.
Now we need to realize what power the Sanhedrin had. They did not have the power that they once had because they were now under Roman rule. Thus, the ultimate power lied with Rome. But the Sanhedrin had worked out an arrangement with Rome. They would support Rome if Rome would support them. So when the Sanhedrin made a pronouncement that concerned local affairs, Rome would support them. Rome didn’t really care about that kind of thing anyway. So with this in mind we see that the Sanhedrin really could have them arrested, and in the future they would do just that.
Now put yourself in Peter and John’s position. How would you respond? Would you do as so many are advocating today and attempt to make the gospel more “relevant?” Would you attempt to present the gospel in a mild way so that you didn’t upset the unbelievers? Listen, this is important, because this is going on all around us.
Let’s see how the disciples reacted to this attempt at constraining them.
III. |
We must expect to have to Choose – vv. 19-22 |
Acts 4:19-22
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, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard." 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. For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.
The disciples learned well from their Master. Let’s look briefly at Jesus’ interaction with Pilate. When Jesus was arrested and brought before Pilate, He never suggested that Pilate had no real authority. In the course of the trial Pilate said to Jesus, “Don’t you realize that I have the authority to either free you or crucify you?” Now listen to Jesus’ reply as we read it from John 19:11
John 19:11
Jesus answered him, "You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin."
What Jesus means is that Pilate has authority, but only because God allows him such authority. So God is the Supreme authority. Jesus also made it clear that those in authority would give an account as to how they used their authority.
And so what did Peter and John do? They did not deny the authority of the leaders, but they realized that God is above all. They said: Acts 4:19-20 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, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard."
They are saying that they can’t help but to speak of what they have witnessed. I wonder if we are that passionate about getting the gospel out. Sure, we don’t visibly see miracles as they did, but we have the entire word of God which they did not have. Oh, if only our lives could be such that we just couldn’t help but speak the things of God!
If we can’t proclaim the truth of the gospel in America, then we are the weakest class of believers the world has known! We don’t know what persecution is.
Joseph Salon, a Romanian pastor. The communist came to him and said we will let you preach but you must register as a state preacher. He had to think about it. He knew that if he registered with the communist he could continue preaching, but he would have to say that the state is sovereign not just God. And the state would control what he said. So Joseph went to a place of solace in the mountains and prayed and fasted. God made it clear to him not to register. Joseph went to his wife and told her that God told him not to register. So they prayed together. He knew that if they killed him it would be worse on her. He would be in heaven. They agreed that they would trust God. Remarkably, they said they slept very soundly that night knowing that God was with them. The next day that communist came to him and asked if he was going to register. He said sir, I will not register. He said Mr. Salon do you know what I can do to you? Joseph said I’m aware that you can take my life. But I want you to know that your greatest weapon is killing, and mine is death. My greatest weapon is dying. They said what do you mean? Joseph said I preach the gospel at church, on the radio, my sermons have been printed and circulated. People know the life I have lived and what I have preached. Now if you kill me you are going to baptize everything I have preached in my blood. They will know that I believed my message enough to die for it. Joseph finished up by saying, “if you use your weapon, I will be forced to use mine! That communist official left and told his superiors to leave that man alone because he is crazy. Today Joseph Salon is the head of the missionary committee in Romania.
That, friend, is faith and divine disobedience.
So how did the religious leaders respond to Peter and John?
Acts 4:21-22
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. For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.
Again these religious leaders could not figure a way out of their dilemma. They did not punish them. But not because they liked them or because they feared God, but because they feared the reaction of the people. Too many Christians are like these religious leaders. They fear the people more than God! We need to simply share the gospel in a humble and loving, but stern manner. God delivered Peter and John this time. There eventually came a time when God allowed them to be killed, but only after they accomplished His will for their lives.
We need to get that point. We need to be disobedient, Divinely Disobedient!
| Conclusion: | |
| To the believer | Again it is imperative that we share the gospel boldly. We can do this when we realize that God is sovereignly in control. We cannot wimp out when it comes to sharing the gospel. |
| To the unbeliever | You need to know that Jesus Himself made it clear that He is the only way to heaven. If that offends you or seems narrow minded to you then you need to take it up with Jesus for He said: John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the light; no one comes to the Father except through me.” |
