Acts 4:1-37
1 And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captaina 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 unto the next day: for it was now eventide.
4 Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was 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 of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.
7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,
9 If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, 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, 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 of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none 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 marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.
14 And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.
15 But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves,
16 Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it.
17 But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name.
18 And they called them, 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 more 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 how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done.
22 For the man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was shewed.
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 that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:
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 of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.
29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: 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 Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.
32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of 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 by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,
37 Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.
The religious leaders were greatly agitated by the public speaking of the apostles, and the Sadducees particularly, for one of their cardinal doctrines was the denial of any resurrection. They were evidently horrified at the thought that God would dare to raise Christ from amongst the dead when they did not believe in resurrection! But pre-conceived falsehood will blind a man with unreasoning prejudice. Peter and John were then imprisoned until the next day. However, their word had been most effective in the two hours or so they had been able to speak, and many believed, so that the number of men only had become about 5000, a marked increase since the day of Pentecost, when 3000 souls (not men only) were converted (Ch.2:41).
The arrest of Peter and John warranted a large gathering of the Jewish rulers, elders and scribes, including Annas and Caiaphas (virtually a joint high priest with Annas). These were the same who had condemned the Lord Jesus to death. Of course it was the preaching of Jesus risen from the dead that aggravated them, but they could not ignore the striking miracle of the healing of the lame man. They interrogate Peter and John as to this first, but they can only expect one answer to the question of "by what power, or by what name" they had done this miracle. Their gathering therefore was a God-ordained means of their hearing the truth concerning Christ risen from among the dead, which they did not want to hear.
Being filled with the Spirit of God, Peter speaks to them of "the good deed done to the impotent man," inferring certainly that a good deed must have a good source. This he declares in no uncertain terms, a message for the leaders and for all the people of Israel, that this was done by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom they crucified, whom God raised from the dead.
The words of Peter in verses 10 to 12 certainly ought to have burned into the hearts and consciences of the council. No cunning lie could ever have given Peter such straightforward boldness. He preaches not himself, but Christ, the Stone despised by these very builders, but established by God as head of the corner. No doubt they knew of this scripture (Psalms 118:22); and the application was so clear they could answer nothing to it. Then Peter concludes his brief and telling message with the firm declaration that there was no salvation in any other name save Jesus Christ: His was the one name given under heaven by which Israel must be saved. What a contrast is this precious confession of Peter to his former denial that he even knew the Lord!
The council is virtually struck dumb. Not even the high priest has a response. They knew these men were uneducated common laborers, and marveled at their knowledge and boldness; but were reminded that they had before companied with Jesus. The healed man standing with them was a witness they could not ignore. They are totally at a loss as to how to answer Peter and John, so ask them to leave the room while the council conferred together.
Their consultation only confirms their impotence, for there is no concrete suggestion as to what they should do. The facts were plain: a notable miracle had been wrought in the name of Jesus they would have liked to deny it, but this was impossible. Yet they agree to threaten Peter and John, demanding that they desist from speaking to anyone in the name of Jesus. Sad is the stubbornness of men that is determined not to admit their plainly manifested guilt! To defend themselves they demand that God keep silence!
Peter and John were not intimidated by such an ultimatum. They appeal to the honest judgment of the rulers themselves. Was it right for Peter and John to give the rulers a place superior to God? What God had revealed to them, and what they had seen and heard, they were impelled to speak. The issue is clearly raised. The rulers knew that they had no just cause to punish them. Fear of the people's opinion restrains them too, for the man's illness had been long established before his being perfectly healed. Nevertheless, before letting the Lord's servants go, they further threaten them, vainly hoping to intimidate them.
"They went to their own company." Precious relief from the company of the ungodly! Their report of the ominous threats of the chief priests and elders does not in any way dismay the disciples. Rather, their hearts and voices are lifted up in praise to the Lord. They give Him, Jesus, the place of sovereign glory as God the Creator. Their quotation from Psalms 2:1 is not directly applicable, for it refers to the bitter enmity among Gentiles, Israel, kings and rulers at the time of the coming tribulation. Yet the rulers of Israel were already showing that animosity. Herod and Pilate also, Gentile rulers, had shown the same hostility to the Messiah of Israel, God's holy servant Jesus, in rejecting and crucifying Him. But in beautiful triumph the disciples add, "to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done." The vanity of the enmity and pride of man is tragic: it is God in control, not they.
The fervency of the disciples' desire to honor the Lord Jesus is only increased by the persecution. The threatens of the enemy they refer to the Lord, and entreat Him to give His servants boldness to speak His word, together with giving further healing, signs and wonders done in the name of His holy servant Jesus. Notice the emphasis on this in these early Chapter s, that Jesus is the servant of God, the Messiah. Paul, as soon as he was converted, preached Him as the Son of God (Ch.9:20). He had seen Him in heaven: they had known Him in His blessed path of service on earth.
The unity and reality of their prayer brings the striking response from God of shaking the building in which they were. This is symbolical of the deep stirring of the Spirit of God in their souls: they were all filled with the Spirit, which gave boldness in speaking the word of God. Such a miracle today would likely so enthuse us that we should forget to proclaim the word.
The unity of the early church was so precious and real (in sad contrast to the many divisions of our day) that no individual considered even his possessions as being his own, but to be common property in the assembly. This was fully spontaneous, not an arranged matter. Such was the reality of their united submission to the activity of the Spirit of God.
This was accompanied by great power in the witness of the apostles to the truth of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace upon all the disciples. It is little wonder that many have deeply wished for a return of those days, but too many have sought it tragically in vain: the energy of men can never duplicate this, though there have been many imitations, all of them failing.
Necessities were not lacking for anyone; for those who owned real estate sold it and contributed their gains to the common fund. Distribution was made to all according to need, the apostles evidently taking charge of this.
Particular attention is drawn to Joses, surnamed Barnabas, a Levite of the country of Cyprus. Levites in Israel received tithes of the people (Hebrews 7:5), but grace so wrought in the heart of Barnabas that he sold land in his possession and gave the proceeds to the apostles for the common fund.