Acts 4:1-22
THE HEARING BEFORE THE SANHEDRIN (4:1-22).... [ Continue Reading ]
THE HEARING BEFORE THE SANHEDRIN (4:1-22).... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And as they spoke to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, being sore troubled because they taught the people, and proclaimed in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.' The preaching of Peter was raising eyebrows among the authorities in the Temple.... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they laid hands on them, and put them in ward until the morrow, for it was now nightfall.' So Peter and John were arrested and locked up overnight so that they could be dealt with the next day. For Temple affairs like this were a matter for the Sanhedrin, and the Sanhedrin (the overall Jewish... [ Continue Reading ]
‘But many of those who heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.' However, this event did not affect the impact of the message (indeed as the chief priests and their denial of a general resurrection were not popular it may have helped it) and many who heard... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And it came about on the next day, that their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem; and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the close relatives of the high priest.' The next day a meeting of the Sanhedrin, the h... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And when they had set them in the midst, they enquired, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?” ' It had been one thing for the Sadducees not to like the Apostolic message. It was another when it was to come before the Sanhedrin. For this was a formal court and had to be conducted al... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “You rulers of the people, and elders, if we this day are examined concerning a good deed done to an impotent man, by what means this man is made whole (‘saved'), be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesu... [ Continue Reading ]
“He is the stone which was set at nought of you the builders, which was made the head of the corner.” Then to support his case Peter indirectly cites Scripture. The citation is from Psalms 118:22. It is either Peter's paraphrase or a quotation from an unknown source, probably the former. He stresses... [ Continue Reading ]
“And in none other is there salvation, for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved.” Then he applies the words to his hearers. There is no salvation in anyone else. Jesus is God's capstone, His cornerstone. There is no other name under heaven,... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Now when they beheld the boldness of Peter and John, and had perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.' We only have recorded the words of Peter, but it is clear from these words that John had also spoken (th... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And seeing the man that was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.' They now found themselves in a quandary. On the one hand they saw the man who had been healed standing among them and recognised that nothing wrong had been done in his healing. Apart from the fact that the... [ Continue Reading ]
‘But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, saying, “What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle has been wrought through them, is openly known to all who dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it. But that it spread no furt... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they called them, and charged them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.' The final communication was now made of their decision. This would have been in the form of an official admonition before witnesses. The men were not to speak at all or teach in the name of Jesus. It was no... [ Continue Reading ]
‘But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to take notice of you rather than of God, you yourselves must judge, for we cannot but speak the things which we saw and heard.' Both Peter and John were moved to reply. They basically did so in the form of a qu... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they, when they had further threatened them, let them go, finding no reason why they might punish them, because of the people; for all men glorified God for what had been done.' But the supreme court of Israel did not want the facts. So the Sanhedrin then reiterated their injunction and let th... [ Continue Reading ]
‘For the man was more than forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was wrought.' The people glorified God because the man who had been healed had been constantly lame for over forty years, into full manhood. It was therefore not something he would grow out of. In view of what was undoubted... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And being let go, they came to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.' On their release Peter and John returned to ‘their own company'. Note the comparison of the old with the new. They have left the company that represented old Israel, and join... [ Continue Reading ]
GOD'S RESPONSE TO THE WARNINGS OF THE SANHEDRIN (4:23-31).... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they, when they heard it, lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, “O Lord (despota), you who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that in them is,” ' “O Lord (despota).” That is, ‘ Master' e.g. of slaves, therefore here ‘of all things'. It is a title often used of... [ Continue Reading ]
“Who of our father through the Holy Spirit, of the mouth of David your servant, said, ‘Why did the Gentiles rage, And the peoples imagine vain things? The kings of the earth set themselves in array, And the rulers were gathered together, Against the Lord, and against his Anointed.' ” Then they recal... [ Continue Reading ]
“For in truth in this city against your holy Servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, were gathered together, to do whatever your hand and your council foreordained to come about.” Now the same situation was being repeated. The ki... [ Continue Reading ]
“And now, Lord, look on their threatenings, and grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness,” But now that was all over. Jesus Christ had risen, and it was now their responsibility to preach His Name to all nations (Acts 4:30). Thus they committed to Him the threatenings and prayed... [ Continue Reading ]
“While you stretch forth your hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of your Holy Servant Jesus.” Meanwhile they looked with anticipation and confidence to the fact that He would continue to stretch out His hand and heal, and that He would continue to perform signs an... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And when they had prayed, the place was shaken in which they were gathered together, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.' Then once they had finished praying the place where they were gathered was shaken, regularly seen as a sign of God's pr... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and soul: and not one of them said that anything of all which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.' Compare Acts 2:44, although note the slight difference in emphasis. Here it is on the fact of their total unity with eac... [ Continue Reading ]
THE KINGLY RULE OF GOD IS EVIDENCED ON EARTH IN THE LIVES OF BELIEVERS (4:32-35). The description that follows, which is an amplification of and expansion on Acts 2:44, was intended to further convey the idea of the Kingly Rule of God as being evidenced on earth, and as constantly growing. They had... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And with great power gave the apostles their witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on them all.' Meanwhile the testimony also went on through the Apostles. They witnessed everywhere with great power, testifying to the resurrection of ‘the Lord, Jesus', the One Who had... [ Continue Reading ]
‘For nor was there among them any who lacked, for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles' feet, and distribution was made to each, according as any one had need.' Again we can compare and contrast wi... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Joseph, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas (which is, being interpreted, Son of exhortation), a Levite, a man of Cyprus by race, having a field, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the Apostles' feet.' There was a man called Joseph, whose surname was Barnabas, (uncle or cousin... [ Continue Reading ]