Peter, Defender of the Faith 130707

Peter, seeing the crowd gathering around, and being guided by the Holy Spirit, immediately took the opportunity to tell the truth about Jesus Christ! First, he told them that the God of their fathers had healed the man they saw before them. Then, he reminded them that God had sent the Author of Life, Jesus, and they had rejected him and condemned him to death. After that, he recognized their lack of knowledge and called them to repent by turning away from their sins and turning to the Lord Jesus Christ. His goal that day was that they ALL may be turned from their wickedness. Well, not all of them believed but the number of men who believed that day came to about five thousand!

Now let's look at our text…

Acts 4:5-12, On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Peter and John had been arrested as a result of the healing of the crippled man at the Beautiful Gate. They really had been arrested because thousands of people were coming to faith in Jesus Christ as result of the healing. The rulers of the Jews could not tolerate that any more than the modern Muslim mullahs can tolerate conversions in the lands they rule.

The crime. Was…

Predicted by Jesus. Listen to what he said, Matthew 10:17-22, Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. 19 When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. 20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22 and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Many of the things that Jesus taught them were not understood at the time, nor remembered well, until they became experience. At least three times he had told them that he would be handed over to sinful men and be beaten, crucified and raised again. They didn't believe it until they saw it! Now they were being confronted by another prophecy of Jesus'. They would be delivered to the court and beaten. They would be dragged before governors and Kings. Brother would turn against brother and parents against children. Children would actually rise against the parents to have them put to death! Several times Jesus gave them a similar warning. Now, they were seeing it happen! The day had started out with two men on their way to a prayer meeting at the temple. As they went along they came to a man begging at the gate who had been lame all his life and he was more than forty years old. What better thing could they do than to give this man a healthy body by the power of Jesus? However, their reward was to be arrested, kept overnight in jail, and then brought before the high Council for trial. Well…

These would be repeat offenders. Again and again they would face the court for similar crimes. In fact, only a short time later all the available apostles would be arrested. Listen while I read, Acts 5:17-21a, But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy 18 they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, 20 “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” 21 And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.

One of the results of their arrest at the Beautiful Gate was their report to the whole group of Apostles. The report included the warning to not speak, or teach, any longer in the name of Jesus. That warning was not just to Peter and John it was to all the Apostles. They had been praying for Peter and John to be released and, when they were, they prayed for boldness to proclaim the very gospel they were forbidden to proclaim!

As we look at the life of Peter we will look in more detail at some of these future arrests. Such persecution did not end in the days of the Apostles. In fact…

Persecution continues today.

Most Christians are vaguely aware of some kind of persecution in the Islamic countries. But the persecution is much more than that. In Burma there is severe persecution. In Indonesia there is similar persecution with rioting in the streets over the construction of a new church building. Chinese churches are having their land taken away from them. In Egypt, Christians are being persecuted and churches are being burned and their wealth stolen. In Pakistan Christians are arrested and murdered for their faith. During the Civil War in Syria Christians are often targeted and their monasteries and churches burned. In Macedonia the Archbishop has been sentenced to three years in prison because of his attempts to reunite his church with the Serbian Orthodox Church. Radical Buddhists continue to persecute Christians in Sri Lanka. In the Central African Republic Christians are being attacked for their faith. Those are all taken from the last two or three day's news. The Vatican has announced that more than one hundred thousand Christians each year — around the world — die for their faith. The persecution of the church began with the Apostles and continues to this day.

Peter and John faced…

The court that tried Jesus. Listen while I read about Jesus' trial. Luke 22:66-71, When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes. And they led him away to their council, and they said, 67 “If you are the Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, 68 and if I ask you, you will not answer. 69 But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” 70 So they all said, “Are you the Son of God, then?” And he said to them, “You say that I am.” 71 Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.”

All that court wanted to do was to find some kind of charge they could bring against Jesus. Jesus understood that and supplied the charge for them. He had said that he came into the world for the purpose of laying down his life for the salvation of his people. He was perfectly prepared to face the enemy and take the sins of the whole world on himself. He died for all those who would come to faith in him.

The court that sentenced Jesus was perfectly willing to come after his followers in an effort to end the faith. Little did they know that they were wasting their time. Some two hundred years later Tertullian would say that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. Tyrants throughout the centuries have learned that the more you kill them the more there are of those who believe in Jesus Christ.

Of those on that court…

Some came to faith. Listen to John's account of the burial of Jesus and look at who was there! John 19:38-42, After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. 39 Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. 40 So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

We know that Nicodemus was a ruler of the Jews and, as such, would have been a member of the Council. When they began to plan to arrest Jesus it was Nicodemus who questioned them, "Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” Thus showing that he was very sympathetic to Jesus even then. By the time of Jesus crucifixion, obviously, Nicodemus had become a follower. Joseph was likely a man of influence even if he was not a member of the Council. This court was being changed even as they conducted these trials. They were fearful of Jesus during his ministry and they were…

Now fearful of these followers of Jesus. Look at Luke's account as it continues beyond our text. Acts 4:13-17, Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. 14 But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. 15 But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 16 saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.”

The council was afraid to push too hard against the Apostles. It's not so much that they feared them but they feared an uprising among the people. It was obvious to everyone, including the council members, that a notable miracle had been performed and could not be easily explained. They were afraid of the Apostles' words! They could see from Peter's defense that they were up against something more powerful than they had expected. Let's look at…

The defense. First, Peter redefined the crime and then he gave a bold response. The council could not understand that the disciples had no choice rather than to tell the truth and part of that truth telling would be to…

Redefine the crime. Listen to what we read at the beginning of the sermon. Acts 4:8-9, Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed,

Remember that Jesus had promised that they would be given the words to say when they needed them? Yes, he had told them that they would be brought into court and they did not have to plan their defense. Jesus told them that the Spirit of the Father would tell them what to do in that very hour.

Though we're not told directly, the charge must've been preaching and teaching in the name of Jesus because that's what they were told not to do anymore. Peter did not accept that charge because it wasn't the real one. He saw that the real "crime" was a good deed done to a crippled man. The real charge was how the healing had been done, or, where the power came from to do it. So he was able to…

Give a bold response. After being instructed to no longer speak in this name listen to what they said, Acts 4:19, But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge,

Peter put the ball back in their court. Rather than give them a direct answer, and perhaps to avoid offending them any further, he asked them to judge whether it is right to listen to them rather than to God. What would God think of the Apostles if they listened to the Council rather than to God? The obvious answer is that God would be very displeased.

We have a responsibility to obey government whenever possible. We have a responsibility to even submit to evil governments as long as it does not violate our faith. One of the reasons for the American Revolution was the existence of the state churches such as the Episcopal Church in Virginia and the persecution of the independent churches such as the Baptists. In our new secular age that bit of information will likely be left out of the history books! We live in a constitutional republic that promises more freedom than it gives. Recently, at a so-called "gay pride" event in Seattle, Washington, two street preachers, exercising their constitutional right to free speech, were attacked by some in the the crowd. I understand that one of the goals of the event was to encourage tolerance of a lifestyle the Bible condemns. Obviously, there was no tolerance of the Christian viewpoint.

I don't know how quickly this kind of thing will spread across the country but I do know there will come a time when Christians will have to take a stand…

Because there is no other choice. Peter and John recognized that they had to stand up and be counted. Listen to their own words, Acts 4:20, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”

A popular term fifty years ago was the "Silent Majority" meaning that most people favored a conservative position but did not speak up. I am pretty sure it was true then and I know it is true now.

Jesus said, "So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven."

Jesus also gave the same Apostles the great commission to go into all the world and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that he had taught them. Then he said he would be with them always even to the end of the age. Wow! That includes us!

Jesus had predicted that his followers would be treated the same as he would be. Persecution has often been the evidence of a person being Christian. The apostles committed the "crime" of testifying to the power of Jesus name, again and again. The court that tried them was the same one that tried Jesus. Some of those judges, or Sanhedrin, came to faith in Christ during his life and others would follow in the years ahead. One thing that is obvious — they were afraid of the witness of Jesus' followers. All Peter had to do was redefine the crime to what it really was, healing a crippled man, and then give a bold response. You see, they had no other choice. And the truth is we have no other choice either. We cannot but speak what we have seen and heard. We need to always be prepared to give anyone who asks a reason for the hope that is in us.

All scripture quotes are from:The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.