New Year Challenge Day 3-5

Acts 3

The disciples have been proclaiming the Gospel about Jesus, but they are essentially still Jewish in thought, faith and practice.  They have been consistent in their daily and weekly practices, attending the Temple for their worship.  As Peter and John attended one afternoon, they were asked for alms from a lame man – yet they offer so much more, proclaiming him healed in Jesus’ name.

They immediately come to the attention of the crowds, with the once-lame man now dancing and praising God.  They run to Peter and John in the expectation that these two disciples were somehow Jesus’ successors, performing miracles in their own power.  Peter addresses the crowds again, and in his second witness to the people explains that the healing was nothing to do with them personally, but that they had simply been instruments of the Holy Spirit.

The disciples go on to point out that all the prophets, all the scriptures had pointed to Jesus, and that Jesus fulfilled everything that had been said about the Messiah.

Acts 4

Although they have constantly and consistently fulfilled their obligations to the Jewish religion – their message about the power of the Holy Spirit and the fulfilment of the prophecies in Jesus has brought them to the attention of the priests and Sadducees.  This day has been coming, and was predicted by Jesus himself at the Last Supper, when they would be arrested because of their testimony. Peter and John become the first of Jesus’ followers to be arrested.  The Sadducees awe priests acted in anger, jailing them overnight – but the “damage” has been done, with over five thousand believers being added to their numbers!

The following morning many of the same people who had interrogated and tried Jesus were there to do the same thing to the two disciples.  Caiaphas, Alexander, John and other members of the family were there, as too the Sadducees and Pharisees.  They demand to know by which power they acted.

Jesus had promised that the Holy Spirit would provide the words for them to defend themselves, and so it proves here.  Peter and John’s testimony astounds the leaders, especially as they are considered “uneducated and ordinary men”.  After some lengthy discussion, their punishment is to go free, only if they won’t speak about Jesus anymore.  The apostles disagree strongly, and they are set free because of the people watching them – just as Pilate had feared the crowds when he dealt with Jesus, so the priests and Pharisees had the same reservations.

When Peter and John return to the other believers and report all that had happened, the whole assembly prayed as one for strength and boldness and courage in the face of threats posed by the religious leaders.  

Psalm 133 reads:

1 How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!

2 It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard,

running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe.

3 It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion.

For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.

The early Christians believed and lived in one mind – and the blessing of God was delivered upon them in great power, shaking the very walls of the building where they were located.

The chapter finishes again with an affirmation of the peace and love in which the new believers lived, each sharing their gifts and talents with each other.

Acts 5

Ananias and Sapphira were a married couple who became part of the new faith, believers in Jesus.  They sold some property to bring much needed funds to the group, but with each other’s knowledge, they held some of the proceeds back.  They brought their gift to the apostles, lying about the amount, saying that it was all the money that they had.  Clearly they were lying, but not to the disciples, but to God.  On this accusation, Ananias collapsed and died. Three hours later, Sapphira lied about the amount too, and also collapsed and died when confronted!  Their crime wasn’t that they had lied to the other believers, or that they had held some of their own money back – this was clearly their decision to make – but they lied to God.

The Apostles continued to meet together in Solomon’s Portico, a very public area in the Temple, and continued to preach and minister to the sick and needy.  Their fame was spreading widely, and many people were being carried out to be healed, some even by Peter’s shadow!

Again, the religious leaders were incensed with jealousy – and laid hands on the apostles and put them in jail.  Near daybreak, God sent an angel to the prison, opened the doors and the Apostles were led out and ordered to proclaim the Gospel in the temple courts.  They were here when the priests arrived early that morning, and ordered the guards to bring them to the Sanhedrin for trial.  Of course, they weren’t in the jail, and the commander of the guards had no possible explanation for their absence.

When they were told that the arrested men were publicly in the temple, preaching, they were escorted to the Sanhedrin for questioning.  The leaders accused the Apostles of disobeying a direct command from them, that they were not to preach about Jesus, but the Apostles all replied that they must obey God, not man.  This had been the message that the religious leaders should have been preaching all along, yet they now disputed it, putting their authority above God’s!

The council consider their options about the Apostles – and dearly want to execute them.  One of the leaders, Gamaliel (one of the most respected of the teachers, conferred with the title Rabba, or teacher of teachers) weighs in on the argument, cautioning them about making their movement into a full scale revolt, making them martyrs – claiming that if they are truly acting in God’s power, nothing could stop them anyway!

Having heard the arguments for and against, they compromise on having the apostles beaten, and sent out to keep their peace once more – yet the disciples rejoiced that they had been found worthy of being persecuted!  Having left the trial, they immediately ignored their conditions of release, and preach both in the temple, and in the houses in the area!