“And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead” (Acts 4:1-2).
In Acts 5:17, we read that “the high priest ... and all they that were with him,” were of the “sect of the Sadducees.” In Acts 23:8, we read “for the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit.” They were the “modernists” of those days. They opposed the Lord Jesus and the testimony of all His disciples, being proud and tenacious enemies of the truth. Could there be a sadder state for the Jews: having an apostate for an high priest?
“And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide. Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand” (Acts 4:3-4).
Although the Jews were under the power of the Roman Empire, the Roman authorities allowed the Jews to judge themselves. Pilate did not want to pass judgment on Jesus, saying to the chief priests, “Take ye Him, and crucify Him: for I find no fault in Him” (John 19:6). The same priests laid hands on the Lord Jesus’ apostles and put them in prison as if they were criminals. But the devil could not stop God’s plan: out of those who heard what Peter preached, “about five thousand” men believed!
“And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by Him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:5-12).
At the critical question asked by the Jewish leaders — full of pride, zeal, and their own self-importance — Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, gave a direct answer, telling them that it was by the name of Jesus Christ of the despised people of Nazareth, the one they had crucified, that the crippled man had been healed. He also said that there was no other salvation except through the glorious name of Jesus.
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it. But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done. For the man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was shewed” (Acts 4:13-22).
The secret of true spiritual power is very simple: live constantly in communion with, or in the company of, Jesus.
“What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms,
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.”
Peter and John were unlearned and ignorant men, but they had been with Jesus. We remember the saying of a deceased brother, “God can use an educated man in spite of his education; he can also use an ignorant man in spite of his ignorance.”
The Jewish leaders did not want to repent. On the contrary, they wanted — with open eyes — to cover up the testimony of the Lord Jesus. But Peter and John’s inspired answer was decisive: “We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” The Sadducees had to get rid of them without punishing them, because they were afraid of the common people who were glorifying God because a cripple of more than forty years had been healed.
“And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, Thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: Who by the mouth of Thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against His Christ. For of a truth against Thy holy child Jesus, whom Thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever Thy hand and Thy counsel determined before to be done. And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto Thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak Thy word, By stretching forth Thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of Thy holy child Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:23-31).
“Set free” from prison, set free from daily jobs, or set free from other ties, what a precious privilege for the believers in the Lord Jesus to gather together with others who also belong to Christ! Whether it be to thank God, to pray, or to build each other up in the holy faith.
The apostles told the other believers everything that had happened. Later, (and this is the first prayer of the Christian era that is written down in the Bible) they lifted their voices altogether to God, recognizing Him as the Great Creator and quoting Psalm 2 — which had been fulfilled in the rejection of Christ by the rulers of this world. They also recognized that God was over the actions of men, making them contribute to the fulfillment of His eternal counsels, as is declared to us in Proverbs 21:30, “There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord;” and also in 2 Corinthians 13:8, “For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.”
It is important to note that Christians, since the beginning of the formation of the church, did not beg the Lord to destroy their enemies as the Israelites did. They simply begged Him to consider the threats of their enemies, and to give them strength to give a faithful testimony and confirm it by way of miracles. They also asked that people would know that the living and true God was the God of the Christians and that they would believe in the gospel of His grace.
Physical healings, miracles of various types, and marvels accompanied the testimony of the early Christians, confirming the gospel of God — an entirely new thing in the world. However, once the testimony was established, the very lives of those same believers confirmed the proclamation of the holy truth of God. Because of this, healings and miracles were unnecessary. If the lives of the Christian prophets “epistle(s) . . . known and read of all men” (2 Cor. 3:2) had not confirmed the gospel, then countless miracles would not have confirmed it.
The manifestations of the Spirit of God in certain practices told about in the book of Acts were transitional in character. When we arrive to the epistles of Paul written to the church in seven places — churches which were already established in their public testimonies — he does not speak about public healings and miracles and wonders, except in 1 Corinthians 12-14, where he regulates the use of “tongues” and suggests that they will cease. In his subsequent epistles written to the Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians, he does not make any mention of healings and miracles. Nor does he make any mention of them to the Romans, Galatians, and Thessalonians. On the contrary, in Romans 8:22-23 we read that “the whole creation groaneth ... and ... even we ourselves groan within ourselves.” Paul did not heal his faithful fellow servant, Timothy. On the contrary, he prescribed him medicine (1 Tim. 5:23). Nor did he heal his fellow servant Trophimus, but rather left him sick in Miletum (2 Tim. 4:20). The goal of the Christian, according to God, is primarily spiritual prosperity and not physical well-being. “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth” (3 John 2).
We do not deny that God is sovereign and that He can miraculously work to confirm His testimony wherever He wants to, but we should not forget that, “after the working of Satan with all power and signs and wonders” (2 Thess. 2:9). “By their fruit ye shall know them.” Those that belong to Satan do not bear good fruit with holiness.
After the believers in Jerusalem finished praying, God did answer in a miraculous way: “the place” (Note: not the believers) “shook”; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, “and they spake the Word of God with boldness.” Those believers had already received the Holy Spirit, which dwelt in every one of them. Whoever does not have the Holy Spirit is not a real Christian. “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His” (Rom. 8:9). But to be filled with the Holy Spirit is a different thing: “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18). Another has written: “The Spirit should take control of our affections, thoughts, and intelligence in such a way that He is our only source according to His own powerful energy and to the exclusion of everything else.”
“And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need” (Acts 4:32-35).
We see here a real communion, never before known in that miserable world, let alone in the world today. The Lord Jesus’ prayer was answered: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word; That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me” (John 17:20-21).
The Holy Spirit was not grieved: the apostles gave witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus with great force. There was no selfish spirit among the believers, and those that had goods came and placed them at the feet of the apostles to share with those who had need. (See Prov. 11:24-25). There is no doubt that many of the Jews that confessed Christ as their Savior suffered from the theft of their goods, and did so joyfully; but they needed material help.
“And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet” (Acts 4:36-37).
“Barnabas ... The son of consolation.” How the church of God needs such servants of the Lord!
This brother, feeling sorry for the needy believers among the Jews, sold “an inheritance” and gave the whole amount to the apostles to distribute among the poor. “Barnabas” was not one of the twelve apostles chosen by the Lord Jesus in “the days of His flesh;” he was chosen afterwards (See Acts 13:2; 14:4, 14): “the apostles Barnabas and Paul.” Barnabas had been faithful with the physical, and so the Lord entrusted him with the spiritual. A selfish believer is never spiritual.