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- Preaching the Living WORD through
the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 - |
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THE
FIRST WARNING TO THE CHURCH Acts 4:13-23
(8/18/13) Grace Bible Church,
Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl Hilbert I. REACTION OF SANHEDRIN (Ac 4:13-14) A. Their Observations - As the
Sanhedrin listened to Peter’s reply (Ac 4:10-12) they made several
observations. The first was Peter’s “confidence” (parrēsia
- boldness and freedom), with which he was able to speak without fear in
their presence. Secondly, they perceived them as “uneducated” and “untrained”
men. They thought they were “uneducated” (agrammatos
- without higher education) in the sense of being Galileans, who spoke,
not in technical vernacular but in everyday language (Ac 2:7-8). They were
“untrained” (idiōtēs -
unskilled) in the sense that they had not been trained by the tradition
of rabbis and religious lawyers. B. Their Amazement - Subsequently,
they were “amazed” (thaumazō) at the
apostle’s knowledge of Scripture but not the apostle’s conclusions on the
Scriptures or the Messiah. C. Their Recognition of Jesus’ Disciples -
It was at that point they made another observation. They recognized that the
apostles had been the disciples of Jesus (Jn 18:15-16), who also, according
to them, was learned in theological disputations (Jn 7:15, 46 cf. Mt 7:28-29;
Mk 1:22; cf. Mt 22:23-33; 34-43) but uneducated in rabbinical school. D. This amazement coupled with the fact of
the healed cripple left the Sanhedrin with no refutation or reply (“reply”-
antilegō - refute or contradict). They
were once again befuddled with the powerful truth though they thought they
had buried it with Jesus. II. RESPONSE OF SANHEDRIN (Ac 4:15-18) A. The Council - Nevertheless, the
Sanhedrin had to do something. The Council (sunedrion
- “sitting together” - Eng. Sanhedrin) asked the apostles to leave while
they “conferred” (sumballō - put
(throw) together as in ideas or decisions) together. B. The Public Miracle - The question
that the Sanhedrin was faced with was what they were
going to “do” with these men. On the one hand they did not agree with the
apostle’s message, but on the other hand they could not deny that a
“noteworthy” (gnōstos - recognizable
or publically known) miracle had taken place. The Sanhedrin had missed
and rejected the whole point of the divine miracle, which was to give
credence to the apostle’s divine message. C. The Prohibition - The only concern
that the Sanhedrin had was that the apostles’ teaching would not be “spread”
(diamenō - circulate or distribute a
report) among the people. In essence, they attempted to keep the people
from hearing the apostle’s divine message. Therefore, they decided to “warn”
(apeilō - to threaten with harm)
the apostles not to speak “in this name” or by the authority of Jesus any
longer. D. In fact, they “commanded” (parannellō - authoritative directive or
order) them “not to speak or teach
at all in the name of Jesus.” III. RESPONSE OF APOSTLES (Ac 4:19-20) A. No Retaliation - The response of
Peter and John was an interesting one. They did not retaliate, hurl insults,
or even defy the Sanhedrin. Instead, they posed a theological question, which
should have been considered by the Sanhedrin
originally. B. Theological Question - Peter posed
the question, “Is it right to obey man rather than God?” He gave the
Sanhedrin the freedom to come to their own theological decision, “You judge (aorist
active imperative - krinō - judge or decide)”
The religious leaders should have had no problem answering this most basic of
tenets in Scripture. It had always been a principle in Scripture to obey God
rather than man (Ex 1:17; Da 3:17-18; Dan 6:10; Ac 5:29). Ironically, the
religious leaders ignored obedience to God and called for obedience to men,
i.e. to them. The apostles appealed to God’s higher court as well as exposed
the Sanhedrin’s unbiblical prohibition and disobedience to God. C. Not Able Not to Speak - Peter
added, “for we cannot stop speaking
about what we have seen and heard.” Literally, the
apostles were “not able not to speak” (ou
dunametha…mē
lalein). The apostles’ answer was not only the
right theological answer, but also an answer for which they had far greater
accountability. If the apostles were chosen by God to be His spokesmen,
attested by miracles, then to withhold God’s message would carry a far
greater accountability for them (1Co 9:16). D. Equal to OT Prophets - The apostles
were not mere believers wanting to share the gospel; they were equal to or
greater than the OT prophets (Ep 4:11). Like the OT
prophets, the apostles had been given a divine commission
by God (Christ) (Mt 28:18-20; Ac 1:8). Their commission was to bear
witness to Christ’s resurrection and speak God’s divine message (1Jn 1:1-3).
The apostolic office carried with it a far greater degree of accountability. E. For example, we read in the Scriptures
about a prophet whose disobedience cost him his life (1Ki 13:24). The
illustration from Jonah shows that a prophet cannot thwart God’s will and
prophecy (Jon 3:3). In a contrariwise example, Scripture gives an account of
a false prophet who attempted to give a false prophecy but was prohibited by
God (Nu 22:18; 23:11; 24:10). In another case, Ezekiel was
warned to speak to a disobedient people who would not listen to him.
If he refused, God would judge him as disobedient like his listeners (Eze 2:7-8). F. Civil Disobedience - Note that
Peter was not advocating rebellion to the powers that be.
In fact, Peter as well as other apostles instructed obedience to civil
authorities (1Pe 2:13-17; Ro 13:1-7). But if human
authorities demand a violation to explicit principles in Scripture, obedience
to God is required. IV. CONCLUDING EVENTS (Ac 4:21-23) A. Threatened Further - Obviously, the
Sanhedrin was not in agreement with the apostles’ answer. So they “threatened
them further” and probably with more intensity. Their threats were aimed at silencing the apostles from teaching in the
name of Jesus. The Sanhedrin had no other choice but to let the apostles go.
However, this did give the Sanhedrin future legal grounds to arrest them if
they continued to speak and teach (cf. Ac 5:28). B. Released for Two Reasons - There were two grounds upon which the Sanhedrin released the
apostles. First, the Sanhedrin had no legal or religious basis to keep
them or punish them. In healing the crippled man, they broke no Roman or
Scriptural Law. Secondly, they cowered because of the opinion of the people
(which happened to be correct). The people recognized the divine confirmation
of the healing of the crippled man. For the crippled man had been with them
for over forty years. Furthermore, some of the people had accepted the
apostles’ message that Jesus was the Messiah. C. Apostles Reported the Events - The
apostles were released and went to “their own” (tous idious).
This surely means they gathered with the other apostles but it most likely
includes a number of the growing assembly of believers, i.e. the church. The
concept of reporting to the church will become a theme of the NT church (Ac
14:27; 15:4). V. OBSERVATIONS AND APPLICATIONS A. Uneducated Disciples - Though many in
the church are not educated in Seminaries, they are trained in the Word of
God in the church. One of the purposes of the church is to “equip” (Ep
4:12, katartimos - prepare or train) believers
for ministry. Academic achievement does not necessarily equate to spiritual
growth and competence. B. Had Been with Jesus - Though this
phrase refers to an original disciple of Christ, “being with Jesus” is a
prerequisite for ministry. Believers will grow and increase in ability to
minister spiritually by spending time with Jesus. There is no substitute for
personal study in the Word and personal time in prayer. Oh Lord, make it
obvious to the world that we “had been with Jesus.” C. Civil Disobedience - Though a
genuine concept, “civil disobedience” for the believer might be better
phrased as “heavenly obedience.” Christians have always
been accused of being “rebels” when in reality they were the best
citizens. “Heavenly obedience” is not hatred and rebellion. Rather it is love
for God and obedience to God’s explicit principles. |
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