Acts 4:1-12. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday February 27, 2022.
We continue looking at this question of what does God really want from me. We have talked about Connecting to Jesus and his followers, Growing to be like Jesus, and Serving one another like Jesus served us.
Now, we turn our attention to our final purpose, and that has to do with Sharing Jesus with those who do not know him. Again, we do so to connect them to Christ, and as an outflow of our living connection to Christ. It is a part of our spiritual growth when we share the good news about Jesus with others. Also, we are serving people who are spiritually lost when we do this. Yet, it is unique enough to deserve its own place as another purpose that God has for us.
We should share Jesus passionately with those who do not know him. Some of those people barely know anything about Jesus, and they often have misconceptions about him. Others will say that they are Christian, but they are clueless about what that really means. This wide range of people who are spiritually lost is very diverse, and the believer needs to be led by the Holy Spirit in sharing Christ with each one. No one tactic will “work” with them all.
Sharing Jesus involves more than a message, or a downloading of information. The message of who Jesus is, what he has done, and what he is going to do, has ramifications for every person on this planet. They really do need to know the information. However, we are more than people with information. We have come into relationship with the one who is presently changing us. Thus, we share a message and the powerful effect of having Jesus in our lives. In short, we share Jesus himself with them in a spiritual way that they will not understand at first.
Of course, this needs to be a passionate endeavor. If I am truly in relationship with Christ, then I am will be challenged to connect, grow, serve, and finally share Jesus, by the Spirit of God working within me. This is the work of God’s Spirit stirring us up to do the good works that God has prepared for us to do!
Let’s look at our passage in Acts 4.
It is understandable that it would be controversial to publicly proclaim that the leaders of Israel had unjustly executed Jesus. However, Peter and John are not just crying out publicly for justice against an unjust government. At its core, Christianity is a call for all men everywhere to repent, be they an individual who has a low position within society, or be they part of a criminal cabal that rules a nation (even the whole earth).
Let’s dig a little deeper into the background of our passage.
This event happens about seven weeks after the crucifixion of Jesus. Peter and John had been preaching under the large portico called Solomon’s Colonnade. It is sometimes called a porch, but it wasn’t attached to any building. It was a series of columns with a roof that gave covered access to the courts surrounding the temple. This preaching was giving a stir itself as many started to believe them.
Acts 3 records an event that shocked the temple crowds. There was a man who had been lame since birth. People would bring him to one of the gates at the temple compound so that he could beg for alms. Of course, this would be a target rich environment because the people are generally coming there for spiritual reasons. This man would have been a regular fixture that everyone would recognize. “Oh, that’s that blind man who begs by Gate Beautiful.”
This man is begging for money when Peter says to him, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” Peter then took him by the hand and the man was able to stand up, start walking, and even started leaping and running. This is a miracle on many levels. It caused such a stir and a crowd that Peter tells the crowd that this is done by the power of Jesus of Nazareth, and that they need to repent and believe on him. Simultaneously, the commotion draws the attention of those in charge of the temple. Peter and John are arrested and held overnight.
In a sense, the foundational human authority on this planet begins within each one of us. You have authority over what you think, say, and do. Peter had faced the truth about Jesus, and the truth about his own failure to stand with him. The failure in that moment represented a greater failure of Peter to love God with his whole being. Only such a person can then call others to face the truth about their own actions in the face of what God has decreed. Without Christ, we are all rebels against the Creator-King of the Universe. The Gospel is at once a sword into our heart, and a cure for our sickness.
This message of repentance sends a ripple up through the authority structures of this world, and challenges every authority (not just Israel). You must bow the knee to Jesus, or perish as his enemy. Verse twelve is a valuable statement of truth. “There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” This is an unyielding decree of God the Father, and the world chafes at it from the high and mighty to the low and powerless. The reality of Jesus ruffles everyone!
We can focus on the miraculous healing of the lame man. However, operating in the power of the Holy Spirit is more than doing miracles of healing. Peter’s ability to challenge the people and the leaders with the blazing truth of God is itself a miracle. His public declaration of the truth about Jesus was directly empowered by the Holy Spirit. This is how we should operate in all that we do for Christ. Parents must pray that God will empower them to speak and teach their children the truth of God in a powerful and God-led way.
Being responsible for a child can be intimidating in and of itself, but the challenges become greater as we scope out to where Peter finds himself that day, in front of the national leaders of Israel. For the believer, however, this should be no different. When you have grown spiritually to depend upon the Holy Spirit for whatever you face, then in that moment, you become like David when he faced Goliath. He had already faced lions and bears by himself in the field. God has prepared you for whatever moment you face, but you will still need to rely upon the power and direction of the Holy Spirit. Whether you witness to a person on the street, or speak before Congress, the Lord will be there to help you in that moment.
The corrupt leaders of Acts 4 want to know by what authority Peter and John are doing what they are doing. Who gives us the authority and power to call all people everywhere to repent, to call the great powers of the earth to yield and repent? Yes, it is Jesus, but it is not us using Jesus as a poster child for holding governments accountable, or speaking truth to power. It is me bowing the knee to the Lord of heaven and earth. It is me agreeing with God the Father that I am guilty of a capital crime against heaven, and yet also rejoicing that He has given terms of pardon in the person and work of Jesus.
We are all like that lame man of Acts 3 who suddenly finds that he can walk after 40 years of begging. He was walking and leaping and praising God! Who could shut him up?
God the Father has overruled all corrupt authorities, starting with myself. Jesus is the Anointed King that He has installed over all authorities in heaven and on earth. All people everywhere are under a death sentence until they flee to Jesus for shelter. Each Christian is a person who has been set free from death by the grace of Jesus! How can we keep silent, and who can shut us up?