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| Chapter 4 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1 ¶ And as they spoke unto the people, the priests and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 being grieved that they taught the people and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they laid hands on them and put them in hold until the next day, for it was now eventide. 4 However, many of those who had heard the Word believed, the number of the men being about five thousand. 5 ¶ And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers and elders and scribes, 6 and Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and as many as were kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. 7 And when they had set them in their midst, they asked, "By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?" 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said unto them, "Ye rulers of the people and elders of Israel, 9 if we this day are examined about the good deed done to the infirm man, and by what means he is made whole, 10 be it known unto you all and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified and whom God raised from the dead, even by Him doth this man stand here before you whole. 11 This is ’the stone which was set at nought by you builders and which has become the head of the corner.’ 12 Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved." 13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took note of them that they had been with Jesus. 14 And beholding the man who was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. 15 ¶ But when they had commanded them to go outside the council, they conferred among themselves, 16 saying, "What shall we do to these men? For indeed, that a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all those who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But so that it spread no further among the people, let us strictly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name." 18 And they called them back and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said unto them, "Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you rather than unto God, judge ye; 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 nothing for which they might punish them, because of the people; for all men glorified God for that which had been done. 22 For the man on whom this miracle of healing was shown was over forty years old. 23 ¶ And being let go, they went to their own company and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. 24 And when they heard this, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord and said, "Lord, Thou art God who hast made heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them, 25 who by the mouth of Thy servant David hast said, ’Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? 26 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ.’ 27 For truly against Thy holy child Jesus, whom Thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, had gathered together 28 to do whatsoever Thy hand and Thy counsel determined before to be done. 29 And now, Lord, behold their threatening's, and grant unto Thy servants that with all boldness they may speak Thy Word, 30 by stretching forth Thine hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of Thy holy child Jesus." 31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the Word of God with boldness. 32 ¶ And the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and of one soul; neither said any one of them that any of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. 33 And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 Neither was there any among them that lacked, for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold 35 and laid them down at the apostles’ feet. And distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. 36 And Joses, who was surnamed by the apostles Barnabas (which is, being interpreted, "the Son of Consolation"), a Levite of the country of Cyprus, 37 having land, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet. |
In this chapter we see the religious leaders turned against the claims of Jesus, that He was the Son of God. This is often the problem with religion, they try to win God’s forgiveness their way, by works and not the way that God wants. The arrival of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost and its effect, the bringing people to salvation through Jesus, was starting to upset the Jewish religious leaders, they thought that they had destroyed the message being given by the Nazarene Jesus, instead people were saying that Jesus was not dead and His message was even stronger. Following the healing of the man who was a cripple from birth, Peter and John were now preaching in the temple. Also in the temple were a group of Temple guards and Sadducees. Because of the teaching and belief of the Sadducees the teaching of the disciple, resurrection, was very likely to upset them for it could affect their position and standing in the Jewish leadership. Because of this the Sadducees took Peter and John and put them in jail until the next day. v4 The preaching may have been stopped but the Holy Spirit was not to be stopped, He was very active in the listeners hearts, five thousand heard the Word and believed. v5-23 The Trial. Three Things showed about this trial:- 1) When a religious group is threatened they try fear to stop the threat. All the top religious leaders were present, the High Priest, past and present and all their family, they could probably trace their family back to the high priests of early Israel. Luke is describing what appears to be the Sanhedrin, the highest court of the Jews. This group considered themselves the only ones who could interpret the scriptures and the laws. Peter and John were placed in the middle of a half circle of these people, they planned to get the prisoners confused with questions and verbal attacks from all sides. v7 They start by challenging the disciples, "By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?." But at this trial God’s in charge through the Holy Spirit and Peter being filled with this power speaks out. "We did this good deed of healing this man in the name and by the power of Jesus Christ of Nazareth who you crucified and God has brought back to life." By giving Jesus the title "Christ" they are saying that He was the Messiah that the Jews were supposed to be waiting for. v13 When they saw that Peter and John were not afraid of them and that these two men had not been educated, they were amazed, and it put them in a tricky position. The healed man was evidence of what was being claimed by Peter, he was standing beside Peter and John in front of them. But it did not have any real affect on the hearts of the Sanhedrin. Peter and John were told to leave the room while the Sanhedrin discussed the situation. They could not deny the miracle, they could not punish Peter for a good work, yet they could not believe themselves either. So they threatened the two disciples, what would happen to them if they carried on teaching in the name of Jesus. v18 The Sanhedrin were powerless to stop the disciples preaching, they could not punish them for doing good, the people of Jerusalem would not have accepted punishment, the were glorifying God for the healing of the man after 40 years a cripple, v21,22. What did Peter and John do? They went back to the company of Christians and told them all that had happened. Then they joined together as one to give God the glory. v24-31 Luke records what was spoken in prayer. The prayer was from their hearts, no one had to say let us pray. Today we often pray from set words in prayer books and often at set points in the service. These people were praying and worshipping as the Spirit was leading. The prayer involved what God had done, He was one who originated the events and controlled the result. God was and is in control, everything will be done according to His plan and purpose. They recognized that God had created the world and all that was in it, and this included all the people who were now causing problems. They were happy to accept His plan and He did not need to explain why to them. v29 Their prayer also included two requests, they asked God to look at the threats being made by your enemies and also to give them the power, as His servants, to speak the Word of God with boldness. v30 Finally give us faith to do wonders in the Name of your Son. v31 God answered them in a dramatic way, a physical shaking of the house and an out pouring of the power of the Holy Spirit. God gave them the power as asked and told them to leave everything to Him. v33-36 The first battle was over and the church has grown, witnessing to the resurrection of Jesus. The believers were with one heart and united in love for each other, those who had money were helping financially with the needs of the believers. v36,37 The final verses of this chapter are to lead us into the events recorded in the next chapter, an example of giving by Joses, surnamed Barnabas, but this event shows in the next chapter what God feels about selfishness, pretending or hypocrisy. |
Easy English Translation
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