Acts 4:1-22 - The Sadducees' Surprise
Christianity may seem down, but it is never out!
SINCE WE LAST LEFT OFF... The new Church has been growing by leaps and bounds. Peter has performed a miracle by healing a man who was lame from birth in the Temple courtyard, and has been addressing a massive crowd that gathered once they heard about it.
Acts 4:1–22 (NASB95)
1 As they [Peter & John] were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them, 2 being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they laid hands on them and put them in jail until the next day, for it was already evening.
4 But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
5 On the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem; 6 and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent. 7 When they had placed them [Peter & John] in the center, they began to inquire, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?”
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people, 9 if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health. 11 He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
13 Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus. 14 And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply. 15 But when they had ordered them to leave the Council, they began to confer with one another, 16 saying, “What shall we do with these men? For the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no longer to any man in this name.” 18 And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; 20 for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” 21 When they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which to punish them) on account of the people, because they were all glorifying God for what had happened; 22 for the man was more than forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed.
Heidelberg Catechism
Q&A 29
Q. Why is the Son of God called “Jesus,” meaning “savior”?
A. Because he saves us from our sins.
Salvation cannot be found in anyone else;
it is futile to look for any salvation elsewhere.
Summary
It's been said before that no good deed ever goes unpunished. Especially when a good deed gets performed on the home turf of the men who had the most to lose from this upstart religious group that doesn't even have a formal name yet. So even as Peter and John were speaking to the people who'd gathered once they heard about the miracle, the Sadducees showed up with their goon squad and hauled the two preachers into custody.
The Sadducees were the political rivals of the Pharisees. Unlike the Pharisees, they really didn't have a problem with Jesus - until Jesus came to Jerusalem on that fateful Passover week and began to seriously disrupt their massively lucrative Temple markets. In addition, the Sadducees had a good thing going with the occupying Roman government, and riled up religious crowds threatened that stability.
These guys thought they'd handled the problem when they manipulated the Romans into crucifying the ring leader months earlier. Sure, there'd been rumors that the grave ended up empty, but nobody would actually believe that! So imagine the Sadducees surprise when not only are two guys standing in the temple courtyard proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead - a concept totally foreign to their theology - but also backing up their preaching with a miraculous healing of a man who'd been lame all of his forty years!
This episode shows the remarkable resilience of Christianity. It seems like it's been completely stamped out more times than can be counted, but each and every time it comes back with even more power and intensity than before! So if you're feeling pessimistic about the current state of Christianity, a brief survey of Church history ought to bring the optimism right back!
Dig Deeper
You need to memorize Acts 4:12. Let's go through it line by line:
There is salvation - More and more of your friends and neighbors have sadly concluded that there's nothing beyond the random misery of life, and that upon death people simply fade away into nothingness. This is what the Sadducees thought too. But this is the wonderful news of the gospel!
There is salvation... in no one else - Millions of people are lost and hopelessly looking for answers in other religions because they won't accept this simple truth.
...for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men - stated positively, there is ONE name that has been given in which we can fully trust to attain this salvation.
...by which we must be saved - Salvation isn't just an attractive, yet optional, add on to a well lived life. In other words, it's not the icing to the cake. It's something you MUST obtain, because the alternative is eternal, everlasting punishment.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who gave one Name by which we must be saved;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for the confidence to boldly proclaim the truth that Peter and John demonstrated;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
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