StMarie, Richard: Emmaus Course-The Acts-03 ~ Written By R.E.Harlow

Lecture three, Acts chapters three through five. In this third lecture, we shall discuss chapters three through five, which form the third part in the establishment of the church. This section deals with the strengthening and consolidation of the church at Jerusalem. Luke is showing that, on the one hand, the early believers in Jerusalem receive a measure of tolerance on the part of the people, even at times interest and acceptance. On the other hand, this section also indicates that from the very first there were attempts to suppress this growing messianic movement, and that the church experienced a measure of persecution from Jewish sources. The chief opposition was from the Sanhedrin, the highest religious court of the Jews which met in Jerusalem. Luke tells us, chapter four, verse one and chapter five, verse seventeen, that the Sadducees, a religious party among the Jews, were the instigators of the opposition. Luke presents another key narrative in the advancement of the church, but this time emphasizing the strengthening and consolidation of the Christian community. Probably a few months have passed to allow for the events experienced at the end of chapter two. The spectacular miracle in verses one through eleven is a sample of God's power and grace. But this isn't the only reason for this miracle. It serves as credentials for the apostles and their message. The living God is at work here. The people cannot deny what they have seen. Peter, sensing their amazement, once again seizes upon the opportunity to deliver another apologia to the people of Israel. I look at Peter's message as containing four major arguments. First, in verses thirteen through fifteen, he contrasts God's exaltation of Christ and Israel's hatred. Peter clearly accuses them of rejection and hatred of God's Son, the Messiah. He shows God's public honor of his servant and Israel's public dishonor and hatred of Jehovah's servant in verse thirteen. In verse fourteen, he illustrates his point by presenting Israel's perverse choice of a murderer and their denial of the holy and just Prince of Life. Wow, what a stinging accusation. Secondly, in verse sixteen, he further validates his statements by attributing the present miracle to this same Jesus. Who could deny this? Thirdly, since his main object, however, is to win his hearers, Peter, in verses seventeen and eighteen makes an excuse for them. They did it in ignorance. Fourthly, in verses nineteen through twenty six, Peter makes a powerful plea for Israel to repent. Now that she has been enlightened, she had better repent. Notice the force of his plea, verses nineteen through twenty one: If you want revival and forgiveness of sins, change your former attitude concerning Jesus Christ and bring it into line with God's attitude. Verses twenty two and twenty three, as you respected Moses as a prophet from God, so respect and take heed to the words of Jesus Christ, God's prophet, or judgment is inevitable. Peter, in verse twenty four adds the support of all the prophets to corroborate the testimony of Moses in regards to Jesus Christ as God's mouthpiece. In verses twenty five and twenty six, Peter gives at least two reasons why Israel should avail herself of the blessing in Christ. One, because they were fully entitled to them as sons of the prophets. Two, they were first in line as heirs of the Abrahamic covenant. In the account of the arrest of Peter and John in chapter four, verses one through four, Dr. Luke tells us that the Sadducees, who don't believe in a resurrection of the body, reacted to Peter's message of the resurrection. Since they controlled the temple, the palace guard put Peter and John in jail. For the student who desires a brief but excellent treatment of the composition of the Sanhedrin and a historical background of the characters mentioned in verse six, I recommend reading pages ninety five through ninety nine, including the footnotes in F. F. Bruce's commentary on Acts. Doctor Luke, in verses five through twenty two presents the first minor persecution of the church. Peter's apologia before the Sanhedrin is given in verses five through twelve. Luke, in verses five and six no doubt lists the names of controlling members of the group to demonstrate religious bigotry. Since the Sanhedrin at this time included a majority of members from the Sadducee party who supported the chief priestly interests, we can see that this gathering was certainly biased in their judgments. Peter is asked how this healing was accomplished. Under the control of the Holy Spirit, Peter puts the consul at a disadvantage by placing the whole situation in its true light. Are we on trial for doing good? How absurd. Yet, he takes advantage of his position and clearly presents the historical Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah, verse ten. Peter, in verses eleven and twelve clearly defines the real issues. You, the Sanhedrin, are the builders, the spiritual leaders of Israel. You should have recognized God's cornerstone, Jesus Christ, and his building program, but instead you've rejected him. The only one who can bring salvation, forgiveness of sins, is Jesus Christ, but you rejected him. There is no other way, even for you religious leaders, to come to know God, but through this one, the Lord Jesus Christ, the true Messiah. In the next section, verses thirteen through twenty two, Peter and John are admonished not even to speak the name of Jesus. The Sanhedrin is in a dilemma. They can't dismiss the validity of the great miracle which was witnessed by all. The crowds would not stand for that. So, this wasn't the time for violence. So they command Peter and John to be silent. Oh, if verses nineteen and twenty would only reflect our attitude, to obey God and God alone, and not to gravel at the feet of men in fear of their reprisals. Peter and John firmly state, we cannot stop speaking what we have seen and heard. The Sanhedrin, like so many people today, refused to honor historical witness and evidence to the living reality of Jesus Christ. What a dangerous position to be in. How is the church going to react to the edict passed by the Sanhedrin, the most powerful court amongst the Jews? Luke gives us the answer in verses twenty three through thirty one. With one accord, prayer is offered up. What are the predominant thoughts expressed in this prayer? In verse twenty four, God is addressed as Despot, or the sovereign controller, the one who has created all things. In verses twenty five and twenty six, they quote from Psalm two, which speaks of the futility of man's rebellion against the sovereign purposes of God. It also speaks of the sure triumph of God. Even though Psalm two is referring to the millennial kingdom, the principles of God's sovereignty and man's futility of rebellion are certainly applicable to the apostles' day, as well as for our day. In considering God's sovereignty, their prayer is for boldness and confidence. They meet their responsibility and yield with confidence to the word of God and speak with boldness. Dr. Luke concludes this section, verses thirty two through thirty seven, by giving us the results of this persecution. We see the advancement of the church despite persecution. What kind of life characterized the church at this point? In verses thirty two through thirty four, we see the unity of the church and the unselfishness of the believers. We are made aware of the unceasing witness of the apostles. In verses thirty six and thirty seven, Luke presents a complete example of unselfishness in the life of Barnabas. Luke hopes to accomplish two things. One, it is his habit to introduce early to the reader a character who later on is going to occupy an important position. Two, this is one of Luke's many companion pictures. He often presents two stories side by side to illustrate an important point. Here, Barnabas is used to illustrate the positive side of the growth and dedication of the church. On the other hand, chapter five, verses one through eleven introduces the negative side, the entrance of sin, the hypocrisy of Ananias and Sapphira. Satan is not going to allow the church to grow and advance unmolested. We now see the church experiencing internal conflicts. The judgment is severe. Why? To demonstrate at this point in the growth of the church that one had better think twice before handling lightly sacred things. The results, verse eleven: and great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things. Luke once again gives a synopsis of the growth of the church after the crisis period just presented in verses one through eleven. Time has passed, and the church still advances according to verses twelve through sixteen. We notice that the signs and wonders performed by the apostles in Jerusalem is causing the message to spread to the surrounding areas of Jerusalem. At the same time, the Christian community is feared and respected for their way of life. This section makes us aware of the advancement of the church and the increasing number added to its growth. It also serves as an introduction to verses seventeen through forty two, the arrest and trial of the apostles, which is the second minor persecution of the church. The increased interest on the part of the people stirred the religious leaders to jealousy. There is only one way to stop this movement, get rid of the leaders, the apostles. Dr. Luke brings us to another crisis point in the progress of the church. The apostles are imprisoned and then miraculously freed by an angel of the Lord. Why? What is the purpose? For the apostles, the encouragement and direction they need. For the people, a sign that these men are servants of the Most High God. Notice from verse twenty six that the people evidently were greatly impressed with the apostles. Lastly, for the Sanhedrin, to give them further proof of the truthfulness of the statement of the apostles in verses twenty nine through thirty two. The blindness of the Sanhedrin would have led them to slay the apostles if it were not for the providential intervention of the Pharisee Gamaliel, a teacher of the law and a man of great influence. In the Sanhedrin, the Pharisees were in the minority, but they commanded much more popular respect than the Sadducees did, so much so that the Sadducean members of the Sanhedrin found it unwise to oppose the Pharisees' demands. This was very important in a case like the present, where the defendants enjoyed the people's goodwill. Gamaliel warned the others not to do anything rash. His advice consists of sound Pharisaic teaching. God is over all and needs no help from men for the fulfillment of his purposes. All that men must do is to obey him and leave the issue to him. Remember, Luke is also demonstrating that Christianity is not detrimental to mankind, as competent men like Gamaliel bear witness to. Luke concludes this section by giving us another progress report of the church. The apostles rejoice in their suffering and continue to present the claims of Christ as faithful witnesses. Let me close this lecture by reading verses forty one and forty two. So they went on their way from the presence of the consul, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for his name. And every day in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ. Oh, that we might respond to the daily trials of life in a similar way.