Acts  Sermon Series

Wheelersburg Baptist Church 4/29/01 Brad Brandt

Acts 5:12-42 "He Never Said It Would Be Easy"**

I was stunned one night about a month ago. I’d been reading John Piper’s book on missions, Let the Nations Be Glad, when I ran across a piece of information that stunned me. Every year 200,000 Christians die because of their allegiance to Jesus Christ. I looked hard at the number—200,000 Christian martyrs every year.

It’s a big number, almost too big to process, so I decided to break it apart. I took out a piece of paper and divided the number by 365, the result indicating that 548 Christians die as martyrs every day. That helped, but I needed to go further. Dividing by 24, I discovered how many Christians die every hour—the number is 22. I gulped. And as I pondered a little further it hit me. That means that somewhere in the world one Christian is killed for Christ every three minutes. As I looked at the number on the paper, it nearly took my breath away.

He never said it would be easy.

What Jesus did say was this. You will be my witnesses. The Lord uttered those words to His disciples just prior to returning to heaven (Acts 1:8). "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

That’s an instruction. You will be my witnesses. That is, this is our mission. We’re supposed to tell the world about Jesus. We are His witnesses. That’s why we are here.

But in a sense, it’s also a promise. You will be my witnesses. You are going to start in Jerusalem and go all the way to the ends of the earth telling people about Me. That’s a guarantee. The course is set before you, the road paved for your travel. You will be my witnesses.

Will there be bumps along the way as we travel this course? Indeed. He never said it would be easy. In fact, just the opposite. Remember Jesus’ words to the disciples the night before His crucifixion (John 15:18ff.)?

"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. ¹⁹ 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." A few verses later Jesus elaborated (16:1-3), "All this I have told you so that you will not go astray. ² They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. ³ They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. ⁴ I have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you."

It’s true. He never said it would be easy. But He did say that our mission is certain. You will be my witnesses. The battle may be raging, but the outcome of the war is already settled.

The early church believed Jesus. When things got tough, they really believed the Lord’s promise would prevail. They would be His witnesses no matter what the angry world did to them.

In Acts 5, the heat turns up on the church. It’s there that the church faced its first major "bump in the road." I mean major. The believers actually lost some blood to angry whips. We’re going to see what happened and how they responded.

We could divide up Acts 5:12-42 into several messages, but I’ve chosen to deal with the text in one message so as to see the flow. As we’ll see, the early church honored God as it went through three challenging phases. May the Lord use the example of the early church to renew our devotion to our mission.

As the narrative begins, it was a time of popularity for the church. Luke tell us:

"The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. ¹³ No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. ¹⁴ Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. ¹⁵ As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. ¹⁶ Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed."

The Setting: The book of Acts is the fifth book of the New Testament. The four gospel writers present the life of Jesus. Acts, penned by Luke, gives us the life of the early church for its first thirty years or so. By the time we reach Acts 5, the church is in excess of 5,000 people, mostly in Jerusalem and nearby. Luke doesn’t give us a date, but we can assume it’s still within the first year after Jesus’ return to heaven.

We saw some hostility towards the believers in chapter four, but for the most part society didn’t interfere too much with this fledgling movement. Not yet at least. To the contrary, as I read verses 12-16 the church went through an initial phase of respect. Two things were true of the church in phase 1. First…

A. God was real in the church (12). Things were happening! First of all, the apostles performed many "signs and wonders." This is what Jesus predicted when He told His disciples they would do "even greater things" than He did (John 14:12). This also happened in answer to the church’s prayer in Acts 4:30.

It’s a fact. God gave the apostles special, miracle-working abilities. Not everyone did miracles, but the apostles did. These "signs and wonders" were intended to authenticate the ministry and message of the early church.

Listen to 2 Corinthians 12:12, "The things that mark an apostle—signs, wonders and miracles—were done among you with great perseverance." And Hebrews 2:3-4, "How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him [i.e. the apostles]. ⁴ God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will."

It’s inaccurate to think that the Bible is full of miracles. Actually, the miracle working occurred at key times. When God began a new era in redemptive history, He often inaugurated it with Spirit-empowered miracle workers.

For instance, at the beginning of the Age of the Law, Moses performed great signs and wonders. Then at the start of the of time of the Prophets, we see Elijah and Elisha doing the same. Then came Jesus and the apostles to kick off the Church age. Warren Wiersbe comments, "Each time God opened a new door, He called man’s attention to it. It was His way of saying, ‘Follow these leaders, because I have sent them.’"

John MacArthur’s assessment is helpful, "The early church was not a miracle-working church—it was a church with miracle-working apostles."

Luke says the apostles did miraculous works, no doubt, to validate the gospel message. What did the people do? According to the end of verse 12, the believers met regularly in the Temple area called "Solomon’s Colonnade." Why did they meet? As we’ve seen in earlier accounts, they met for worship, instruction, fellowship, and evangelism. Yes, God was real in the church. So real in fact that…

B. The people could see it (13-16). Luke says that no one dared join them. It wasn’t because they were snobbish. It probably had to do with the Anannias and Sapphira incident we considered last time. When a husband and wife lied about a gift they gave to the church they fell dead on the spot. Talk about a press release! "Come to our church! People who are playing games with God die in our services every once in awhile!"

This was not a church that watered down its message to attract crowds. They took God seriously. Our unsaved friends can tell if we’re being phony.

The text says the Christians were "highly regarded." So much so that "more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number."

Some churches don’t practice church discipline, fearing that if they did they would drive people away. To a point they’re right. Church discipline does drive away those who love their sin, but as we see here, a pure church attracts those hate sin and hunger for God. In fact, Luke doesn’t even keep track of the numbers any longer, simply asserting that the church of 5,000 strong picked up "more and more" people.

The point is this. God was real in the church, and the people could see it. In fact, they started treating Jesus’ followers the same way they’d once treated Jesus—by bringing the sick on their mats and the demon possessed for healing. And don’t miss the 100% success rate at the end of verse 16, quite a bit different from the so-called healers today.

In his 1983 acceptance speech for the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion, [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn] recalled the words he heard as a child, when his elders sought to explain the ruinous upheavals in Russia: "Men have forgotten God; that's why all this has happened." He added, "If I were called upon to identify briefly the principal trait of the entire twentieth century, here too I would be unable to find anything more precise and pithy than to repeat once again: 'men have forgotten God.'" 

Friends, that’s not just the world’s problem. Sadly, that’s the case of the typical American church. They’ve got church machinery, but they’ve forgotten God. Oh, they may talk about God, but He’s not real in their midst.

He certainly was in the early church. And as a result, they experienced respect. When God is real in a church, an unsaved community will take note. When that happens we can anticipate a second phase, the one evidenced in verses 17-40.

We’re in trouble if we "do church" according to opinion polls. Last week CNN announced that after the president’s initial 100 days, his approval rating stands at a solid 60%. But we all know how quickly polls can change.

Trends are fickle. Phase 1 was an up time for the early church. It didn’t last long. The respect gave way to resistance. First there was popularity, then came the persecution.

By the way, it’s one thing to hang around church when the crowd says it’s cool. The real issue is what you do when the mood of the crowd changes. Jesus said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me (Luke 9:23)."

In phase two, the opposition became antagonistic. Notice the series of emotions that the early church faced.

A. There was jealousy (17-20). "Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy."

Jealousy is an ugly thing. Who was jealous? The high priest was—the man who should have been the most spiritual person in Jerusalem, the man authorized by the Torah to represent God’s people. And the Sadducees were—again, a group of spiritual leaders.

And why were they jealous? Because the Christians were wrong? No. Because they were stealing their thunder. The Jewish leaders were losing control. By nature, we are control freaks. We want to be in control. We don’t like someone stepping into our limelight. We want to call the shots. That’s why we resist Christ’s call. We want to be Lord of our lives, not Him.

Out of jealousy, the Jewish leaders took action…

1. They arrested the apostles. According to verse 18, "They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail." Again, there was no real crime. The arrest was motivated by jealousy. So to jail they went.

This wasn’t their first time behind bars. Back in chapter 4, Peter and John were accosted, thrown in jail for a night, and given this warning, "Stop preaching in Jesus’ name!" (my paraphrase of 4:18)

But they kept preaching, and ended up back in jail. End of story? Hardly.

2. An angel set them free. Verse 19 states, "But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. ²⁰ "Go, stand in the temple courts," he said, "and tell the people the full message of this new life."

There’s some irony here. Who arrested the apostles? The Sadducees did. Guess what the Sadducees didn’t believe in? Almost everything supernatural, including angels. They were the religious liberals of the day. Yet how did God release the apostles? He sent an angel!

I’m intrigued by what the angel said. He told them to go right back to "enemy territory" (the temple courts) and evangelize the lost.

If an angel got us out of jail, a lot of us would say "thank you!" and then head for an easy chair. Not the apostles. They went right back to the front lines of the battle.

You say, "Didn’t they know they were already in hot water with the authorities and that they’d probably get arrested again, or worse?" They knew. But for them the issue wasn’t, "Is it safe?" The issue clearly was, "Is this what God wants me to do? And if so, we’ll do it no matter what the consequences."

In terms of the resistance, first there was jealousy. Secondly…

B. There was surprise (21-26). Actually, the opponents experienced two surprises.

1. The prisoners escaped (21-24). Let’s read about it, "At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people. When the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin—the full assembly of the elders of Israel—and sent to the jail for the apostles. ²² But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they went back and reported, ²³ "We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside." ²⁴ On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were puzzled, wondering what would come of this."

Just imagine this scene. Can’t you just see the Sanhedrin dignitaries enter the courtroom, with noses held high, jaws set in determination. "We’ll teach those insubordinate Jesus-followers a lesson today!" they were thinking. "Bring them in!"

But when the officers returned, they had no prisoners with them. "Um, we hate to tell you this, but we’ve got a slight problem," the guards mumbled. "The jail doors were locked, but the cells are empty. The prisoners have vanished."

"Well, where are they?" the chief priests undoubtedly demanded. At which point they learned of a second surprise.

2. The prisoners were teaching again (25-26). "Then someone came and said, "Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people." ²⁶ At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people would stone them."

I love this account. From reading this, you get the sense that no one can stop the people of God when they’re doing the plan of God. And they can’t. God is sovereign. Nothing can happen to His people unless He either determines it or allows it.

It’s amazing how two people can see the same evidence and come to such different conclusions. The common people loved what the apostles were doing, and wanted more. The religious establishment hated it, and wanted to eliminate it. In the words of 1 Corinthians 1—"Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise…so that no one may boast before him. ³⁰ It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus."

The resistance started with jealousy. Then came the surprise. Thirdly…

C. There was irritation (27-32). "Having brought the apostles, they made them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. ²⁸ "We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name," he said [that occurred back in Acts 4:18]. "Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood."

You’ll notice that in their interrogation, the Sanhedrin leveled two accusations against the apostles.

1. They accused them of disobedience. "We told you to stop teaching in Jesus’ name, but you have defied our orders!"

2. They accused them of what they said about Jesus. "You keep saying that we were wrong about Jesus, and we don’t like it!"

Now, if you were in the apostles’ sandals, how would you respond? We might be inclined to tone it down to save our necks. They didn’t. If anything they toned it up! They actually responded to both accusations head on.

First, concerning the accusation of disobedience, verse 29, "Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than men!" That’s the same answer Peter and John gave the last time they were on trial before the Sanhedrin.

Concerning the second charge, they gave this response in verses 30-32, "The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead—whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. ³² We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."

Take special note of Peter’s response. He didn’t waste an opportunity. In just a couple of sentences, he gave the gospel. He mentioned the crucifixion—"whom you killed by hanging him on a tree." He mentioned the resurrection—"God raised Jesus from the dead." And the ascension—"God exalted him to his own right hand." He made it clear there was historical evidence for this—"We are witnesses of these things." He concluded by telling about the Spirit’s coming—"And so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given."

We need to tell people the gospel. The gospel is what saves people. It’s also what offends people. In fact, in Peter’s response he used a pointed word to depict the crime of what the Sanhedrin did to Jesus—"whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree." The verb "killed," or diacheirizo, appears only twice in the NT. It means "to put to death with one’s own hands." Rather than toning it down, Peter turned up the heat. In early situations Peter charged the Jewish leaders with responsibility for Jesus’ death (2:23-24, 36; 3:13-15; 4:10). But this time he insists they were as guilty as if they had killed the Messiah with their own hands!

Again, we might think, "Peter, you’d better stay away from the subject of their guilt. It’s your guilt they’re about to pronounce! Don’t you know they can kill you, too?!"

But Peter knew what we tend to forget. No one can do anything to us if God doesn’t allow it. We have a job to do. We must do it, and leave the outcome up to Him.

D. There was hostility (33). "When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death." At first the leaders were jealous of the apostles. Then surprised. Then irritated. Now they’re down right incensed. They were looking for stones to throw.

But God had other plans.

E. There was divine intervention (34-40). It showed up in two ways.

1. It involved Gamaliel’s speech (34-39). Verse 34, "But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while."

Gamaliel gave the order for the Sanhedrin to go into executive session. Gamaliel was a Pharisee, in contrast to the Sadducees who called the trial. He was also highly respected by all parties. Some have suggested he was the most famous Jewish teacher of the day, and possibly the grandson of Hillel. Prior to his conversion, the apostle Paul (then known as "Saul") was one of his students.

Listen to his speech in verses 35-39: "Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. ³⁶ Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. ³⁷ After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. ³⁸ Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. ³⁹ But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God."

Here’s the point Gamaliel is making. Religious fanatics come and go all the time. If these guys are following a dead Galilean, then it’s just another passing fad, no big deal. But if this thing is from God, we’d be fools to try and stop it.

Was Gamaliel a believer? No, he wasn’t. But God used him. You say, "Can God use unregenerate people to accomplish His plan?" He does it all the time. He used Pharaoh in Moses’ day, King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel’s day, and King Artaxerxes in Nehemiah’s day. He even used Pilate to work out His decrees.

And here He used a rabbi named Gamaliel as the agent of divine intervention.

2. It involved the Sanhedrin’s decision (40). "His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go."

The Sanhedrin’s response involved three decisions. They flogged the apostles—don’t minimize the severity of this (39 lashes with a whip). Then they repeated their order prohibiting further evangelistic efforts. And finally, they let them go. Once again, it was divine intervention. You will be my witnesses.

By the way, though God used Gamaliel, He certainly didn’t endorse his response. Here’s a man who lumped Jesus together with two criminals. He also had the notion that if something isn’t from God, it will fail. That’s not true. Cults prosper. Mormonism is one of the fasting growing religions in the world, both in numbers and popularity, but that doesn’t mean it’s biblical.

Yet Gamaliel’s biggest shortcoming was that he didn’t go far enough. "He encouraged neutrality when the council was facing a life-and-death issue that demanded decision," Warren Wiersbe observes. "‘Wait and see!’ is actually not neutrality; it is a definite decision. Gamaliel was voting ‘No!’ but he was preaching ‘maybe someday.’… If Gamaliel was really afraid of fighting against God, why did he not honestly investigate the evidence, diligently search the Scriptures, listen to the witnesses, and ask God for wisdom? This was the opportunity of a lifetime!" According to Wiersbe, Gamaliel was really only a "religious politician."

Have you ever shared Christ with people like Gamaliel? They listen. They don’t get mad. They appear to be objective, open-minded, and maybe even interested. But when push comes to shove they give the "wait and see" response.

"Will you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?" you ask. "I’m interested," they respond. "But let’s wait and see. I want to think about it."

Granted, before a person accepts Christ, he should ponder the implications. But know this. When a person says, "I’m not ready yet. I want to search the Scriptures more," that’s one thing. But when a person gives a wait-and-see response and has no intent of giving serious attention to searching the Scriptures, he is not being "neutral." He is saying no to Christ. That’s a serious matter.

The early church honored God as it faced three challenging phases in Acts 5. The first phase was respect. The second phase was resistance. Now what?

In their resolve, they did two things.

A. They rejoiced (41). "The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name." That’s an amazing response, isn’t it? How do you rejoice when the blood is running down your back? I’d like to make two observations about the followers of Christ in Acts 5.

1. They weren’t motivated by personal comfort. They didn’t like pain any more than we do. But they had a higher incentive for living.

2. They were motivated by a Person. They rejoiced because they’d been set free, right? Wrong. They rejoiced because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. William Temple said that Christians are "called to the hardest of all tasks: to fight without hatred, to resist without bitterness, and in the end, if God grant it so, to triumph without vindictiveness."

It is possible to rejoice in suffering. Kent Hughes shares the account of a modern day hero, Richard Wurmbrand:

"When he was in a Romanian prison, his tormentors ripped chunks of flesh out of him, and he had the scars to prove it. He was sentenced to solitary confinement, and for weeks or even months on end no one would speak to him in his tiny cell. Amazingly, during all of that there were times when he was overcome with joy. He would actually stand up in his weakened state and dance around his cell, confident that the angels were dancing with him.

"He was released from prison unexpectedly, and as he left the prison dressed like a scarecrow, with his teeth rotted and in terrible shape, he met a peasant woman on the road carrying a basket of beautiful strawberries. When she offered him one, he started to take it but then said, ‘No thanks. I am going to fast.’ He went home to his wife, and they prayed and fasted as a memorial to the joy he had experienced in prison, asking God for the same kind of joy outside prison."

Like Wurmbrand, in their resolve the apostles rejoiced. Secondly…

B. They kept preaching (42). "Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ." They didn’t just keep preaching, but actually, they increased their efforts in preaching.

1. They did it consistently. "Day after day," Luke says.

2. They did it creatively. Up until now they had preached in the temple courts. They kept doing that, but Luke says they added a new twist. They preached "from house to house." Why house to house? Because they could reach people in their houses they couldn’t reach in the temple courts.

Are you glad you are a Christian? Are you grateful for what Jesus did for you? Are you looking for ways to show Him your appreciation? One way is to share Him with others.

When it comes to fishing, I’m just a novice but I know this. A good fisherman goes to where the fish are. He doesn’t wait for the fish to jump into his boat. Maybe it happens but I’ve never seen it.

You say, "I’m not having any opportunities to share Christ with unsaved people." Are you going to them, or waiting for them to jump into your boat?

When the early church members were told to stop preaching, they responded with resolve. They preached Christ constantly and creatively, without fear of consequences. Can we do less?

Hugh Lattimer once preached before King Henry VIII. Henry was greatly displeased by the boldness in the sermon and ordered Lattimer to preach again on the following Sunday and apologize for the offence he had given.

The next Sunday, after reading his text, he thus began his sermon: "Hugh Lattimer, dost thou know before whom thou are this day to speak? To the high and mighty monarch, the king's most excellent majesty, who can take away thy life, if thou offendest. Therefore, take heed that thou speakest not a word that may displease. But then consider well, Hugh, dost thou not know from whence thou comest--upon Whose message thou are sent? Even by the great and mighty God, Who is all-present and Who beholdeth all thy ways and Who is able to cast thy soul into hell! Therefore, take care that thou deliverest thy message faithfully."

He then preached the same sermon he had preached the preceding Sunday--and with considerably more energy.

1. What have you done with Jesus? Before you can share Him with others, you must know Him yourself. Do you? Do you know Him well?

In his book The Gospel Blimp, Joe Bayly wrote, "Jesus Christ didn’t commit the Gospel to an advertising agency; He commissioned disciples." Since that’s true…

2. What are you going to do with Jesus? Let’s resolve today to make Him known no matter what. He never said it would be easy. He did say it would be worth it all.

Acts  Sermon Series