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Some background information will help us better understand today’s text.

• Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer.
• A man crippled from birth was brought to the temple so he could beg for alms. Giving to the poor in Jewish culture was praiseworthy. (How do we feel about giving to the poor?)
• This man asked Peter and John for some money.
• Acts 3:6-8 Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.
• A miracle had just been performed on the man, and we can say he was making making quite commotion, so-much-so that the people came running to them in the part of the temple called Solomon’s Colonnade.
• We probably won’t have the opportunity to perform a miracle like Peter did, but God will give us opportunities to impact the lives of ordinary people, giving us an opportunity to share Jesus with them.
• While Peter and John were speaking to the people about Jesus, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them. The scripture said they were greatly disturbed because of what the apostles were teaching the people, especially proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.
• The Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead, but the Sadducees did not.
• It was late in the day so Peter and John were put in jail for the night, then brought the next day before the rulers, the elders, and the teachers of the law in Jerusalem along with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, and other members of the high priest’s family.
• Here’s the key, Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit said to those gathered, “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being 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. Jesus is the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.

Peter filled with the Holy Spirit makes a profound statement when he said, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.

We sometimes struggle making decisions because we have so many choices to choose from. God has made it easy for us when it comes to salvation because there is only one choice on salvation’s menu, Jesus.

Jesus is recorded saying in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

“God designated Jesus to be the Savior of the world, no one else can be his equal. People can be open-minded on many issues, but not on how people are saved from sin. No other religious teacher can die for our sins; no other religious teacher is God’s only Son, who came to earth; no other religious teacher has risen from the dead. Our focus should be on Jesus, the one whom God provided as the way to have an eternal relationship with himself. There is no other name or way.”[1]

Peter and John were judged to be courageous, but unschooled ordinary men by the religious leaders, but they were astonished and took note they had been with Jesus.

How long have you been with Jesus? Has it been at least three and a half years? Do the people who are around you regularly make a mental note that you have been with Jesus?

“Changed lives convince people of Christ’s power.”[2] What is the evidence of your changed life? 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

We must stop trying to blend in with the world in our actions and still call ourselves a Christian. In Christ we are set apart from the world. As a result, we should stand out not blend in.

John 15:19 says; If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.

Romans 12:2 says, do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will.

2 Corinthians 6:17 says, Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.

The religious leaders wanted the apostles to stop preaching and teaching about Jesus. There was a problem though, the man that was healed. He had been crippled from birth. Many people knew him and had probably given him alms in the past. To see him walking around with Peter and John had to be amazing. Peter made sure to give credit for the man’s healing to Jesus.

The best the religious leaders could come up with was to tell Peter and John not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. Peter replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.

What had Peter and John seen?

• They had been with Jesus for 3 ½ years
• Peter had failed the Lord on several occasions but had been forgiven by Him.
• Peter was able to answer Jesus’ question, “who do you say I am?” He said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
• They had seen Jesus be betrayed, be crucified, be resurrected and ascend back into heaven.
• They had remained in Jerusalem until they received the Holy Spirit.
• Now they were carrying out Jesus’ command to go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.
• It was the Holy Spirit that gave them the boldness to refuse to obey the religious rulers.

When we take a stand against what we perceive to be wrong, “we must follow Peter’s example and make our decisions on the basis of “Is it right? And not “Is it popular? Or Is it Safe?” We must be sure that we have the clear teaching of the Word of God on our side before we take a stand against the authority of the government.”[3]

The Bible gives several examples of others like Peter and John that disobeyed the authorities to serve God.

• The Jewish midwives spoken of in Exodus, who were told to kill all the male Jewish babies, but they didn’t.
• Moses’ mother hid Moses for three months rather than allow her son to be killed.
• Daniel and his three companions would not eat food offered to idols or bow down and worship idols.

“When you examine their records, you discover the biblical principles by which they operated, principles that are not always followed today.”[4]

After Peter and John were released, they went back to own people and reported what the chief priest and elders had said to them. When they heard the report, they raised their voices in prayer to God.

We know that one by one the Apostles were martyred for their bold stand for Jesus. Their boldness was the result of the Holy Spirit which we also have at our disposal. But you must be saved to have the instilling presence of the Spirit.

Invitation:

If I ask you, are you saved your response should be yes or no. My responsibility to you as your pastor is to make sure you know what God demands of you to be saved. In the book of Ezekiel, I see what my responsibility is to you.

Ezekiel 3:17- 19

Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die, ’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.

I’m your watchman. My sermons should be geared to warn you of your sin. Then it is up to you to decide to repent or stay the course.

Study Questions

1. Are you saved? How old were you when you accepted Jesus?
2. What is your opinion on giving to the poor?
3. What would be a modern-day life changing miracle?
4. What objections have people used as to why they are not saved?
5. Have you ever been given a mandate not to preach or teach about Jesus?
6. What legal precedent have you opposed on religious principles?
7. How far are you willing to go to oppose what you understand to be against God’s will?
8. Can anyone share a time the pastor’s sermon caused you to repent of a sin?

[1] Life Application Study Bible, NIV, study notes on Acts 4:12, page 1872.

[2] Ibid 1873.

[3] The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, NT, Warren W Wiersbe, publisher David C Cook, all rights reserved, 334.

[4] Ibid 334.

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