Peter and John Before the Council
4:1 And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.
5 On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. 14 But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. 15 But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 16 saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” 18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” 21 And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.
The Believers Pray for Boldness
23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,
“‘Why did the Gentiles rage,
and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers were gathered together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed’—
27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. 29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
They Had Everything in Common
32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. 36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet. (ESV)
29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness…
31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
When Bobby preached on this passage, I thought he made a very good point. Peter and John had just been thrown in prison for preaching the Word, and most of us would consider that to be pretty bold. But to them, it wasn’t even bold enough! This attitude seems to be lacking in this world of tolerance and acceptance, but we need to step it up on our campuses. Every day, we need to pray for the kind of earth-shaking boldness that the early church had, and then we need to go out live it, not backing down from confrontation or passing up opportunities to spread the Gospel. If all of us at True North go out with this kind of attitude, then we will see true revival at high schools across Orange County!
12Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
The chapters where Peter and John are evangelizing are great examples to us on how we should witness and the words we should speak. They did not back down or mush out when it came to the important stuff; they clearly state that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation. When we evangelize we must make the process of salvation clear so that people can not have an excuse for their sin.
31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
Right here the disciples are praying for boldness. How cool (and somewhat scary) would it be if God answered our prayers with an earthquake? Then they were filled with the spirit. Of course I think anybody would after that experience. If I prayed and God answered back by shaking my house, I would be scared, but awestruck and ready to go and be bold for Him. But this doesn’t mean if He doesn’t send an earth quake He didn’t answer, so we have to be bold anyway.
13When 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.
I wanted to comment on this verse because this verse shows what the life of a Christian should look like. When the rulers and elders of the people heard Peter and John, they were amazed by them and they saw the courage that they had and they had realized that they have been with Jesus. This should be the same as a life of a Christian. People at our school should realize that we have Christ in our hearts, and that we have a love for them. We should be keep evangelizing to those people at our school daily or at least every other day. You should want people to know that your a disciple of Christ just like they knew Peter and John had been with Jesus Christ.
36Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), 37sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.
This is an excellent example of sacrificial giving. In the culture at the time of the early church, fields were an important source of income. By selling his field and donating the money to the apostles, Barnabas shows that he is willing to put God and the needs of the body of Christ before his own financial comfort. This verse really minstered to me this morning because Dan and I are stepping out in faith and “selling a field.” We are giving up some extra income as a sacrifice to the Lord in order to spend more time ministering to the body of Christ at Compass Bible Church. While it is a bit scary, this verse really encouraged me this morning that we are making the right decision. If we put God verse we know that He will meet all our needs.
12Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” 13When 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.
Man i love these verse! We cannot receive salvation from anyone or anything else except through Jesus Christ. But there are so many people in this world who believe they can be saved through someone or something else. We need to go out into the world and courageously tell others how Jesus is the only way! Peter showed such courage in this passage. We need to learn from this and speak bodly God’s Word knowing he is the one in control of whether that person will be saved or not. God expects us to share his good news with everyone that we can and we need to always be prepared to give an answer to unbelievers. (1 Peter 3:15) We should never be afraid to not know what words to say because the Holy Spirit will speak through us and give us the right words to speak like he did for Peter! How exciting to know that when we share the gospel He will speak through us and will give us the boldness to do it everyday!
It’s Mr. Burke in the house early today. Its cool that this passage reiterates Bobby’s teaching on growth from the weekend.
I would love to have seen Caiaphas’ face when Peter went from denying Christ to standing tall for Him. It,s also great how they recognize that these men, though uneducated and not trained in public speaking spoke with boldness and authority.
Verse 19 really lays it on the line when they actually refer to Jesus as God. After their release they go straight to their knees and rejoice in prayer (verse 24). Then the earth was shaking WOW…
If i could only have 10% of their faith.
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
This is so completely true! Salvation is found in NO ONE ELSE besides Jesus Christ. There is no way into heaven and an eternity spent with God except through Christ. So many people have not found their way to Jesus yet, that’s why we need to ask for boldness every day (like it mentions in verse 29).
19 But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God.
20 For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
If anyone ever tells us to keep quiet about the Word of God, we better all have an awesome response like the one Peter and John gave in this verse! They make it clear that they are serving God, not the world. Peter and John couldn’t help but to speak about what they knew, what great role models for all of us!!
Great comment, Jessica!
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
Wow! What a blow to all other religions! No other name under heaven can save people except the name of Jesus Christ! It’s so amazing to see how boldly Peter and John proclaimed this! They spoke about these things and didn’t back down when the men told them to stop speaking about Christ. Instead, they turned around and prayed for even more boldness! Earth-shaking boldness! Like Jessica said, what great examples Peter and John are for us!
We looked at this chapter after camp this year and talked about Spreading the Revival! We need to pray that God will give us boldness like this today! Let’s take it to the high schools of Orange County with the same confidence in Jesus Christ that the early church had!
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people!
9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed,
10 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.
11 He is ” ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.’
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
I am blown away by the fierce boldness that Peter displays in answering the Rulers and Leaders of Jerusalem. His answer undoubtedly shocked the leaders too because they realized that although these men were unschooled, they could still debate and speak with authority and persuasion. As highschoolers, we are looked down upon and not expected to be bold, educated in spiritual matters, or even living Godly lives for that matter. Let us remember the truth of 1 Timothy 4:12 and set an example for others in our lifestyles. We need to adopt this insane boldness that Peter displays in this chapter if we truly want to double it up! :)
18Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
19But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God.
20For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
21After 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
This is a great example, and one i would hope i could live by. Being told not to speak in the name of Jesus Christ and knowing there could be serious consequences, they stuck up for what was right, proclaimed there faith, and did what true christians should!
32All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.
I love this verse!! We all need to be together as one in the body of Christ. We claim to be christians, yet sometimes we talk about eachother behind our backs. This is not how it should be. We should unite together and share everything we have! This is an amazing chapter and it really encourages me to go and be bold.
29Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.
this verse is really cool and it is saying for the lords servants to go out and speak his great word and share the gospel with boldness!! i think as christians this is what we should be doing on a every day bases….. going out and evangalizing with no fear and boldness for the lord!!! changing the high schools of southern orange county!!!!
11He is ” ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.’
12Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
Hunter pretty much said what I wanted to say but he is right that John and Peter are such great examples of being witnesses to others. They do not water anything down but they speak the whole truth and they speak it with a ton of boldness not with a care in their mind of what others think of them. They just want to get God’s word out there for people to here like here in verse 12 where they talk about Christ being the only way to salvaltion. This chapter has been very uplifting and encouraging for me so far, so let us go out and preach like John and Peter.
1The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people.
2They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.
3They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day.
IN this verse peter and john are being persecuted by the pharasees and sadducees, and are eventually put in jail. Even today we have to face persecution. but if we are true christians, we should revel in the persecution because it is a sign that we are living a christian life.
4But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.
This verse is so legit because it is saying that within one message the men grew to about 5,000. if more people wont come to our church we should be sharing what we learn to people everywhere we go not just the high schools of orange county.
DOUBLE IT UP!!!!!!!!
S.
C.
These were two verses that really spoke to me when I had read them where…
32All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.
4But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand. This reminded me to “Double it Up”!!!!
Verse 12 was super cool. it just really proves as Christians we can’t be like what you believe is cool and what I believe is cool cuz maybe your god will get you to heaven. Jesus is the only way to salvation.
that was David on my computer.
3They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day.
it is sooo egit that Peter and John got thrown in jail for talkin about Jesus!!! they are such good spiritual examples of how to fear the Lord and not men. like mike said, they dont stop talking about the Lord, they go as far as to rebuke and call out the people that throw them into jail.
31After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
this is another awesome verse on the power of prayer! the disciples pray for boldeness, and the Lord shakes the ground!!! it is crazy how awesome the Lord is and how He responds to the Lord. we should be pray warriors and always do everything for His glory
This is a good passage. =)
32All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.
How stupendous is that?!?! Although, we do frequently have issues with fellow christians disagreeing with others… but why should we?? We all share the love of our Lord Jesus Christ, why should little trivial arguments matter in a church?? We need to love one another and encourage each other, (all the more as we see the day approaching… Hebrews 10!) no matter what our differences are. We should be getting along anyways, as long as they also share that glorious relationship with Him! Lets build each other up in the faith and add to our church’s numbers daily!! :D
19 But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God.
WOW!!! Peter told this guy who is boss…. He basically said that “Im going to obey God….NOT YOU! They set their priorities straight and chose to follow God instead of the preists who told them to stay silent. The priests couldnt do anything to them because of all the other THOUSANDS of people who were followers of Christ….they were all praising God! As Christians ….we need to act like this…WE WILL NOT STAY SILENT!!!!!!
This is a great passage, as well as the message Bobby gave on it. Wow, God answering prayer with an earthquake-how cool would that be. We need to be praying like this for boldness daily, not just casually but begging so that God might be glorified, and when we do so with sincere hearts we will see God’s work done among us. God already has His perfect will planned out and promises to fulfill it, so we need to be bold and take advantage of every opportunity and we will see people saved.
32All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.
I like how it says they were all one in heart and mind. We come to church to hear God’s Word preached, which should always be the main reason, but its also really encouraging to be with other Christians. But we should take advantage of this by not just talking about random stuff, but asking each other where we are in our faith and encouraging/rebuking each other based on their needs so that we we’ll all be one in heart in mind-on fire for Christ as we seek to glorify Him and Him alone.
10then 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.
11He is ” ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.’
12Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
WOWWWW!!!!!! Peter’s boldness is so amazing. He is standing in front of the rulers of the city who can pretty much do anything that they want to him, and he flat out tells them exactly what they don’t want to hear. This is an amazing example of fearing God more than man. Peter is absolutely fearless and he trust that God will take care of him. We can learn a lot from this passage about boldness and standing up for the name of Jesus.
8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people!
Bobby has talked about this verse many times. And he has shown us how it is the fullfillment of a promiss. But all I’m going to say is how amazing is it that Peter was filled by the holy spirit, and the holy spirit spoke through him.
31After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
I love this verse. Its so awesome how the apostles just got out of jail and they pray to become even bolder! and then God even gives them an earthquake ad they just go right back out!
29Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.
oops
Yeah the apostles amaze me because after they spread the Gospel and end up in jail for a day they still say that they need to be more bold for Christ.
10then 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. 11He is ” ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.’12Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
This is such a great verse for the foundation of our Christian lives. There is no way to have salvation except through Jesus Christ. Not through any religion or good works, but only through Christ. How can culture now a days try and explain that there are different ways to salvation when scripture is so clear. We need to be bold as Peter and John were and proclaim to all that salvation is found in no one else but Christ.
29Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.
That is my prayer for myself and True North that the Lord Creator of the heavens and earth will enable us to share the love of Jesus Christ with a boldness and passion that will never cease. What if at the next True North event we prayed together for boldness?
20 For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
this verse just simply puts me to shame. the early church could not help speaking about Christ and yet today we find it very difficult to even bring up that topic. we need to redirect our focus to Christ and in turn we will not want to stop speaking about what we have heard and learned about Christ
12Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.
A lot of people seem to think that they are saved and go to heaven by good works, or by just being a good person. It is our job to to tell them how to actually be saved, through Jesus Christ! We need to tell the world about Jesus so they might be saved, and the number of Christians can grow. People need to realize that we can’t do anything on this earth that will get us into heaven except putting your faith in Jesus Christ, and live accordingly.
wow, what a great chapter!!!
Peter and John are definatley bold in their witness. && look at how they prayed at the end of this passage…..compared to them, we are weak sauce prayer warriors.we fail to grasp the indescribable-ness (yes, i made a new word) of God. Being that we are in the generation that the Bible warns is near the end times, we are self centered and we dont praise our Lord God enough!Sadly, Truth is slowly fading away in our society.People want their best life and not their best eternity(i quote jenae on that one). There is such a place as hell. sadly, our minds fail to comprehend Gods word: We are called to live a life completely surrendered to Him. in doing so, we are called to spread the word of God. we are to be warriors, and put on the armor of God;put on the breast plate of righteousness and we have our sword. Peter and John are so bold and they dont fall back and fear what man can do, but they only fear God, and they speak of God so highly without tweaking the truth, like so many people do today just to fit in. what a great example, I think as we go out on saturday nights evangelizing, but not just saturday nights, every day, we need to fear God only and share how incredible our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is!!
maranatha
wow, I’m lov’n all the comments! Amen to what Bobby said! woot!
4But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.
You know, you would think that Peter and John would be all down after being sent to jail, but once you think about it, for who’s name did they do it for and what reason? GOD!!!! just think, about 2,000 more people were saved that day because they were bold enough to tell them the gospel and His truth! They went to jail, knowing that they had the holy spirit with them and those new believers that now have that personal relationship with Him! What a blessing! I think we do take advantage of that sometimes and we don’t realize how lucky we are to have a God that has chosen us to be saved! How lucky we are to be His chosen people and aren’t gunna end up in Hell someday! Praise Him and His name! boduh bobobuuh, I’m lov’n it! :D
31After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
Man, look at this!!! Praying so hard that the place shook! What I find amazing about this chapter is that after be tried by authorities and whatnot, they pray for MORE boldness!!! That should be our prayer, to be more bold on campus and where ever we may be!!
4 But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.
This can happen to the campus lunches or the wednesday small groups. Lets be praying and telling others to come to our lunches and small groups.