Thursday, July 5,
2012, 5:00 a.m. – The Lord woke me this morning with the song “Blessed Assurance” playing through my
mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Acts 4:1-22 (NIV 1984):
The priests and the
captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while
they were speaking to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the
apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of
the dead. They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them
in jail until the next day. But many who heard the message believed, and the
number of men grew to about five thousand.
The next day the
rulers, elders and teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest
was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and the other men of the high
priest’s family. They had Peter and John brought before them and began to
question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”
Then Peter, filled
with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are
being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are
asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It
is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God
raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is
“‘the stone you
builders rejected,
which has become the capstone.’
Salvation is found in
no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we
must be saved.”
When they saw the
courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men,
they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. But
since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them,
there was nothing they could say. So they ordered them to withdraw from the
Sanhedrin and then conferred together. “What are we going to do with these
men?” they asked. “Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an
outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it. But to stop this thing from
spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no
longer to anyone in this name.”
Then they called them
in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s
sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we
have seen and heard.”
After further threats
they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the
people were praising God for what had happened. For the man who was
miraculously healed was over forty years old.
My Understanding: As
I read this passage of scripture this morning, there were five main verses or
passages that stood out to me, in particularly, which is what I will
concentrate on this morning.
Many Believed
Peter and John were speaking to the people about Jesus
Christ. They were approached by the priests, the Sadducees, and the captain of
the temple guard. Talk about intimidating! Imagine speaking to someone or a
group of people about Jesus Christ, and then having the highest ranking
religious and civil authorities approach you to question you, and, perhaps,
also to scold you for what you are doing. Some people don’t have to imagine
this, because this still happens today to people all over the world. Still, in
the USA, we have relative freedom to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with
people… at least for now we do.
The religious and civil authorities were greatly disturbed
because the apostles were teaching the people about Jesus Christ, specifically
concerning the resurrection of the dead, because the Sadducees did not believe
in the resurrection of the dead, if I remember correctly. So, they seized Peter
and John and threw them in jail for the night. Yet, many who had heard them
speaking believed in Jesus Christ, and the number of men (plus women and
children, too, I imagine) grew to about five thousand.
Ok, so Peter and John were sharing the gospel. They faced
severe opposition from religious and civil authorities. And, they were thrown
in jail because of their testimony for Christ. I am assuming here that this was
done publicly and that some of the people witnessed this taking place. This
means that the people who heard the message saw what could happen to them, too,
if they chose to believe in Jesus Christ, and they chose to believe in spite of
the severe opposition and the persecution they knew would most likely be
awaiting them. Wow! We know so little of this in the USA now, but one day, I
believe, we will experience what others throughout the world have already
experienced, and are still experiencing on a daily basis. If we were to be
treated as they were treated, would we be so bold as to continue sharing the
gospel?
The Spirit
The next day the rulers brought Peter and John before the
Sanhedrin, which was kind of like our Supreme Court here in the USA. It was
made up of religious and civil authorities, and usually members of the Sadducees
and Pharisees were on this supreme ruling council. John and Peter were, thus,
questioned by this supreme council of leaders. They asked them by what power or
what name they had brought healing to the crippled beggar.
Then it says, “Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit said to
them…” If you were to do a word search in your Bible concordance on the word
“filled,” you would find many instances where it spoke of men of God being
“filled with the Spirit” before they spoke in Jesus’ name or before they performed
some miracle or healing of some kind. We learned a day or two ago that
Ephesians 5 teaches on this subject of filling of the Holy Spirit. We are
baptized with the Holy Spirit when we come to faith in Jesus Christ. That is
when we are crucified to our flesh and are risen (born again) to new life in
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Yet, the scriptures also talk about being filled with
the Spirit, which literally means “be being filled,” and is in the context of
putting off the old man and putting on Christ and the things of the Spirit.
So, when it says Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit, it
means he was walking closely with Christ, he had a clear conscience, he was
living in submission and surrender to God, and to God’s will for his life, and
he was daily putting off his flesh, i.e. he daily died to his old man, and
daily he chose to walk in obedience to Christ and to follow him wherever he led
him. Being filled with the Spirit is not an emotional experience unrelated to
our repentance or our obedience to Christ. It means we have chosen to not walk
according to our flesh and the ways of this world, but we have chosen to be
completely surrendered to Christ. Then, he can use us in powerful ways to do
his work here on this earth.
The Capstone
Peter, filled with the Spirit, answered their question, and
he addressed his response to the Sanhedrin and all the people of Israel. He
said it was by the name of Jesus Christ, whom they had crucified but whom God
raised from the dead (a sore point for the Sadducees), that the man stood
healed. Then, he went on to let them know that Jesus Christ was the fulfillment
of prophecy of scripture. Jesus Christ is “’the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the capstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is
no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Amen!
A capstone is the top stone of any structure, usually a
building or a wall. In other passages of scripture Jesus is called the
“cornerstone,” which is “the first stone laid at a corner where two walls begin
and form the first part of a new building” (Encarta). Also, a capstone is a
keystone: “The keystone, or capstone, is the center stone found at the top of
the arch. In this position it supports the surrounding bricks or stones and helps
distribute the weight of the remainder of the arch. Its name ‘keystone’ comes
from its importance: without it, the arch would collapse. Romans were the first
to use keystones in their arches.”
So, what Peter was saying is that Jesus Christ is God, he is
the promised Messiah to the Jewish people, he is the top, the first, the most
important, the foundation, the beginning, the center, the support, the key, and
that without him as our Lord and Savior, we will collapse. He created all
things and he holds all things together. He is to be number one in our lives, and
have the most central place in all that we think, do and say, and he is to be
the boss, our support (emotionally and spiritually), and from him all else
should flow in our lives. So many people have this inverted. We need to
understand what Peter was saying here. Jesus is to be the King of our hearts
and lives and everything else in our lives should come out from that
relationship with him, not the other way around.
Jesus said that if anyone would want to come after him (to
believe in him), he must deny himself (his own selfish ways), take up his cross
daily (daily die to the old flesh nature), and follow (obey) Jesus Christ,
going wherever he leads us. This is what it means to believe. The people who
heard Peter’s message understood this. They knew that when they believed in
Jesus that it could cost them their lives. And, that is the approach we should
take, too, in surrendering our lives to Jesus Christ – we should give him our
all in perfect submission. It is there that, in that state of perfect submission,
that we find rest, peace, joy, assurance of salvation, and we are enveloped in
the love of Jesus Christ.
With Jesus
When the Sanhedrin saw the courage of Peter and John,
recognizing that these were ordinary and unschooled men, they were amazed, and
they “took note that these men had been with Jesus.” Cool! They saw that what
the men were able to say and accomplish, as well as their courage under fire,
was outside of their own natural habitat and level of education. Yet, better
than all that, they “took note” that the men had been with Jesus. I wonder if
the same could be said about us. I mean, when people here us speak, or watch
how we behave, or when they read what we write (formally or informally), would
they take note that we had been with Jesus? Could they tell that we not only
spend time with Jesus each day, but that we show we believe what we say we do
by how we act and speak when we are not in the public eye? I believe that is a
challenge for each one of us.
Obey God
The Sanhedrin dismissed the apostles and then they conferred
about what to do with them. Their goal was to stop the gospel of Jesus Christ
from spreading further, so they commanded them not to speak in the name of
Jesus. What would you do if someone in authority over you commanded you not to
speak in the name of Jesus? Would you retreat or continue? They replied, “Judge
for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God.
For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” Awesome! Amen!
I pray that would always be my attitude, i.e. that I would never stop speaking
in the name of Jesus Christ, even if threatened, severely persecuted, hated,
rebuked, rejected, mocked, ridiculed and/or even if I am falsely accused,
because Jesus Christ was treated the same way so I could be free of my sin!
Amen! And, I can do no less than praise him, thank him, obey him, live for him,
and serve him for all he did for me!
Blessed
Assurance
/ Fanny Crosby
Blessèd
assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a
foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of
salvation, purchase of God,
Born of
His Spirit, washed in His blood.
Perfect
submission, perfect delight,
Visions
of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels
descending bring from above
Echoes of
mercy, whispers of love.
Perfect
submission, all is at rest
I in my
Savior am happy and blest,
Watching
and waiting, looking above,
Filled
with His goodness, lost in His love.
This is
my story, this is my song,
Praising
my Savior, all the day long;
This is
my story, this is my song,
Praising
my Savior, all the day long.
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