No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Acts 4:1-20

This is a synopsis, or quick review, of the sermon for Sunday morning, October 13, 2024.  I am only hitting the highlights of the message, not reproducing the entire sermon. 

First Scripture Reading:  Acts 4:1-20

Last time we were together, we talked about the “power of the Holy Spirit” which was promised to the followers of Jesus Christ in Acts 1:8.  In this case the power gave Peter and John an opportunity to demonstrate that Jesus was indeed the Christ by healing a beggar, who had been lame from birth.  The healing gave Peter a platform to preach before the gathering audience who were coming to the Temple for evening prayers. Many heard that Jesus was indeed the Christ and believed.  Acts 4:4 says that there were 5,000 male residents of Jerusalem who believed.

But this did not please the Sadducees, the religious party who ran the affairs in the Temple.  The Sadducees were a large Jewish sect who believed that keeping ritual was the most important part of being Jewish.  Their biggest rival party was the Pharisees, who believed “law keeping” was the essential important part of Judaism.  The Sadducees were also educated in all Greek philosophy and had adapted Plato’s idea of “transmigration of souls.”  A human soul was a “chip” from the “Great Soul” (God) in heaven.  After being purified in the physical world, the soul would return to God and become part of the “Great Soul” above.  Therefore, any thought of a physical resurrection was out of the question.  The physical was thought as inferior to the “spiritual.”  Some Bible teachers have quipped, “The Sadducees did not believe in resurrection, that is why they are ‘sad you see’!”

Now, a matter of a few months after the execution of Jesus, here are His disciples, standing in the Temple courts proclaiming that Jesus was resurrected and that proved He was the Christ.

Last time I preached, we saw the power of the Spirit doing a miracle and aiding Peter to preach with power.  This week we see the power of the Holy Spirit giving Peter and John the power to stand against the opponents of Jesus and courageously speaking the truth before His enemies.

Our story picks up in Chapter 4, as the temple leaders stop Peter mid-sermon to ask who gave him authority (power) to preach in the Temple courts.  Due to the time of the event, the pair was jailed for the night and a trial was held the next day.

A group of the Sanhedrin met the next morning.  Notice in verse 5, Annas is High Priest this year.  Caiaphas, who was the High Priest the year before, and who executed Jesus, was also on the council.  The question on the leader’s mind was “by what ‘power’ or authority do you dare preach in the Temple Courts.”  Peter turned the question against the council.  “Do you mean, by what power was the “good deed” of making the lame beggar walk done?”  That is easy, it was by the power of Jesus Christ whom you crucified, and God raised from the dead that this man now walks!

And here is the crux of the entire matter.  Jesus of Nazareth is the Chosen One of God and by God raising Him from the dead, it proves that He is, indeed, The Christ!  His power has made the lame man walk.  Furthermore, Jesus Christ is the only name by which man can be saved!!! (4:12)

Peter uses an interesting analogy to explain this idea.  In the OT, Psalms 118, the author is praising God for all His good works and speaks of God opening the gates of the Temple to him (118:19).  As he speaks of the gates of the Temple, he makes this interesting comment in verse 22, “The stone the builder’s rejected has become the cornerstone.”  According to Hebrew tradition, as the foundational stones of Solomon’s Temple were being laid, a stone came from the quarry which did not seem to fit anywhere.  It was thrown to the side and forgotten.  As the far side the walls were about to be joined, there was no connecting or cornerstone.  When they inquired at the quarry, they were told the stone had been sent with the other cornerstones.  The workers found the stone, and it became the capstone that made the back corner of the Temple foundation come together.  The Palmist praises God for this small miracle (118:23).  Peter uses it as an illustration.  The Jewish leaders had rejected Jesus, but He indeed was the one foundational stone holding God’s plan of salvation for both Israel and the whole world.

Peter’s concluding statement is a point that infuriated the Jewish leaders and, I fear, will also infuriate the majority of people in America today.  It is statement that Jesus Christ is the only way to God!  “There is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved!” (4:12).

The leaders were left speechless.  The former lame beggar stood beside Peter & John.  The leaders could not reply to Peter and John in any way.  So, they demanded that the disciples not mention the resurrection of Jesus again.  Peter then replied, “You judge, is it better to listen to you or to Him (Jesus Christ).  As for us, we cannot help but speak about what we have seen and heard” (4:21-22).

What about you?  Are you ready to use the “power of the Holy Spirit” in your life to stand and defend Christ’s good name to those who may oppose it?          

God Bless.  

CH Jim Odell