Acts 4:32-37

Today’s reading is the second “transition section” that we have seen in Acts. The first was at the end of Chapter 2. In these transition sections time passes, but we don’t know how much. So it could have been that Peter and John appeared before the Council in the first few weeks after Jesus’ Ascension or it could have been months. (We don’t imagine it would have been years.) Likewise, the time passage in today’s reading could also be weeks or months, but this time also, possibly years. Our Chronological Bible has Jesus’ death in A.D. 30, with Stephen’s martyrdom in A.D. 32, so we have only Chapter 5 in our readings before we meet Stephen in Chapter 6.

And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus… (v. 33a). Time has passed since Jesus’ Resurrection and Ascension and the Holy Spirit’s anointing at Pentecost, but the one focus for the apostles is the Resurrection. The apostles are seeing miracles and signs and wonders taking place in Jesus’ name, but the preaching focus is the Resurrection. Later, in I Cor. 15:17, 19 the apostle Paul writes of the power of the Resurrection in our lives: And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins… If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. Jesus’ Resurrection is the game-changer for us as Christians. Many people have died for their faith, but none have come back bodily from their death.

When I am sharing my faith with a non-believer, I ask a series of questions. Do you believe that Jesus lived? Do you believe that He died, that He was crucified? Do you believe that He rose from the dead. I typically get “yes” answers for #1 and #2a, with a “maybe” for #2b and either a “no” or an “I don’t know” for #3. Then it’s time to launch into evidence for Jesus’ Resurrection. If you’ve never read it, a short book by Josh McDowell, More Than a Carpenter, provides in simple terms a number of evidence items for the Resurrection.

Folks, we need to have Jesus’ Resurrection as the foundation of our faith and as the center of our witness. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus…

Slava Bohu!

Acts 4:23-31

…to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. (v. 28) Every time I run into some “predestination” item I wonder about predestination and choice and free will. My Study Bible, not a fan of absolute predestination, argued against any notion that the Lord had put it into the leaders’ minds to do what they did, but that he allowed them to undertake their “freely chosen acts to accomplish His chosen purpose”. So I went to other translations. Here is the NIV, a better understanding, I think, of what the text actually means: They did what Your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. So the “predestined” notion in this verse first quoted above refers to the outcome, Jesus’ crucifixion, not to the means to that outcome. That is, God had preordained that His Son would die on our behalf, but that men acting on their own free will brought it about.

I’ll end on a happier note: …and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. (v. 31b)

Slava Bohu!

Acts 4:13-22

One of my favorite Scripture verses: …for we cannot help but speak of the things that we have seen and heard. (v. 20) That was my “go to” verse from my classroom days. I would irregularly quote Scripture in class whenever verses popped into my head (appropriately into my lecture!). And I never feared being challenged for those quotes by some radical student arguing about the separation of church and state. I knew that my faith was part of who I am, just like my farm background, my military service, my family, were part of who I am. That would have been my defense, but I never got called on it.

And they [the Council] recognized that they [Peter and John] had been with Jesus. (v. 13b) Wouldn’t it be great for us to be recognized for our having been with Jesus? That reality came to the Council members only after they had heard Peter’s witness from yesterday’s reading. So if we want to be recognized for having been with Jesus, it would probably be helpful if our conversation directed our listeners to wonder about that connection.

Slava Bohu!

Acts 4:5-12

I’ve long imagined Peter and John before this gathering, standing together in a large room facing the many rulers, elders and scribes – but I’ve never imagined the healed man standing there with them! Verse 3 says “they arrested them” – must have been all three. Verse 7 says they “set them in the midst” (correction to my “standing” above!). Verse 9 has Peter speaking about “by what means this man has been healed”. Finally, in verse 10 Peter, speaking about Jesus says “…by Him this man is standing before you well.” (Standing…!) So four references to “them” or “this man”, but I had never pictured the healed man alongside Peter and John.

So what? Let’s go a step further. This man was arrested with Peter and John and spent the night in jail with them. Scripture does not say they were beaten or anything else about them, just that they were held overnight. Can you imagine their conversations? Can you imagine Peter and John sharing with this man the entire evening about Jesus – all the time that they were with Him, all that they had seen Him do. And to talk about his life, death and Resurrection, then living among them another 40 days, then ascending to heaven… And I am now picturing this man taking it all in – I doubt they slept all night!! What a glorious conversation!! I suspect this man came away from this evening healed, born again, and committed to sharing Jesus with whomever would listen. What joy! GLORY!!

Slava Bohu!

Acts 4:1-4

And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. (vv. 1-2) I’m intrigued by the phrase …greatly annoyed…, or “greatly disturbed” as I found in some translations. I can understand “disturbed” better, in that the Jewish leaders might be troubled at a new “religion” peeling off traditional Jewish adherents. Or with the Sadducees in control of the temple and the Sanhedrin, it could have been that they feared this new “movement” could create trouble with the Roman authorities – leaders with whom the Sadducees were quite friendly. Or the Sadducees could be remembering their own difficulties with Jesus when He proclaimed a resurrection from the dead. See Luke 20:27-40, especially verse 40: For they (the Sadducees) did not have courage to ask Him any longer about anything. Strong!

But, “annoyed”…?? People get annoyed at smaller things, items that are troublesome but not major. So if the Sadducees were “annoyed” at this new group, it seems to me that they were dismissing the Apostles as a fringe group that would soon die out, but who, at the moment were creating a disturbance in the temple at a major gathering area. So Peter and John were an annoyance that they would deal with tomorrow. Stay tuned…!!

Slava Bohu!

Acts 3:11-26

Read another four verses into chapter 4 if you want to see how this incident ends. My Study Bible again enlightened me, this time about Solomon’s Portico. This structure was a porch on the east side of the inner wall that enclosed the outer court. (You might want to find a picture of Herod’s Temple and Solomon’s Portico. Here’s a link with a number of pics: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=solomon%27s+portico&fr=mcafee&imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fdustoffthebible.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F02%2FHerods-Temple-and-Solomons-Portico.jpg#id=18&iurl=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.neverthirsty.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F01%2Fsolomons-portico.jpg&action=click). My Study Bible continues – there were rows of 27-foot-high stone columns and a roof of cedar. Here’s another reference: “Solomon’s Porch was a long, covered but open gallery created by two parallel rows of columns supporting a long wooden roof. Solomon’s Porch ran along the eastern edge of the temple area, overlooking the Kidron Valley and facing the Mount of Olives to the east.” (https://www.bibleversestudy.com/acts/acts5-solomons-porch.htm) All this information is noteworthy. This area could well have been the regular gathering place for the Apostles and their followers who “met daily in the temple” – an open, covered structure, a place to gather out of the hot sun, but still open to bystanders. It could have even been the place where the disciples were gathered when the Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost, where Acts 2:1-2 describes the location as (gathered in) “one place” and (the Spirit filled the) “whole house”. I can now see dozens or even hundreds of Apostles and disciples gathered daily at this long, open-porch area, sharing with one another and preaching to bystanders. It is so much more vivid in my mind!! GLORY!!

Slava Bohu!

Acts 3:1-10

Peter and John together seems to me a strange pairing. We’ll see them together for the next week or so. We know Peter as the leader of the Apostles, and we always picture John as one of the younger Apostles. Yet here they are going to the temple together. They had run to the tomb together on Easter morning. And later they will be sent to Samaria to pray for new believers there that …they might receive the Holy Spirit. (Acts 8:14-15) They were two of the three (Peter, James, and John) who witnessed the Transfiguration (Matthew 17), who were with Jesus at the raising of Jairus’ daughter (Matthew 5:37), and who went forth with Him when He prayed at Gethsemane (Matthew 26:37). So these two, a strange pairing. And where’s James?

And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. (v. 8) What’s strange to me here is that the man leaps up and is immediately walking and leaping. In today’s world when someone has a stroke or has a body part replacement, there is a period of physical therapy and rehabilitation, often re-learning basic life functions. But this man, lame from birth, is immediately “up and at ‘em”!! Glory!

Slava Bohu!

Acts 2:40-47

My Study Bible pointed out the likelihood of two different meanings to “breaking bread”. Verse 42 has And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. The likely meaning here is their regular Eucharistic celebration, possibly in the temple area or in some larger gathering place. Verse 46 has And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts… Here it looks more like a regular meal “in their homes”. “Breaking bread…” Interesting.

I’m trying to imagine the witness these Apostles had. Yes, Jesus had been around for 40 days after His Resurrection, but my sense is that He spent most of that time with His followers – and much of that time in Galilee. As I said earlier, I’ve already imagined the Apostles to be in the temple area when the Holy Spirit appeared at Pentecost. And in the temple area, I could imagine some 3000 “souls” being baptized in one day. (I’m also imagining that pools of water would have been available in the temple area, for personal cleansing and for cleaning up after animal sacrifices.) But what intrigues me most is the last verse, And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (v. 47b) The Apostles’ witness is a daily occurrence. They are in the temple together (v. 46 above) and …having favor with all the people (v. 47a). Surely it was their words that brought people to salvation, but I’m also guessing that their collective demeanor, their love for one another was also an attraction to an interested bystander. Walk the walk and talk the talk.

Slava Bohu!

Acts 2:29-39

Sometimes I wonder if there is not a hierarchy within the Trinity. No doubt, greater minds than mine have resolved this issue and have all three members of the Godhead as co-equal with one another. I wish I could give you something from one of our Creeds or from the 39 Articles to support a non-hierarchy, but I can’t find one. Here is one institution’s statement: “We believe that the one God eternally exists in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and that these three are one God, co-equal and co-eternal, having precisely the same nature and attributes, and worthy of precisely the same worship, confidence, and obedience.” (https://www.christianity.com/god/trinity/god-in-three-persons-a-doctrine-we-barely-understand-11634405.html)

So why do I bring up this hierarchy question? It begins back in the Garden of Gethsemane, with Jesus praying “…not My will, but Your will be done.” It carries over in His many prayers, addressing God as His Father and, as I see it, seeking the Father’s will and direction. But I see it anew in today’s reading: This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit… (vv. 32-33a) Somehow I see the Father calling the shots, especially with the phrase “…having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit…” To me there is a real sense here of the Father’s authority – essentially having the Holy Spirit “at His disposal” and having “gifted” Jesus with the promise of this Holy Spirit. It struck me differently this time when I read it.

Please don’t take me for a heretic. As I said earlier, greater minds than I… However, the topic might merit a good discussion!

Slava Bohu!

Acts 2:22-28

A few items from Peter’s speech… First, Peter has a long speech, 23 verses, and I’ve broken it down into three days’ readings. So we lose a bit of continuity, but we can always re-read the previous day’s reading so as to better see the flow.

Second, my Study Bible pointed out some general Acts speech items that we will see again in similar fashion in chapters 3, 10, and 13: (1) an explanation of events; (2) Jesus’ life, death, Resurrection, and Ascension; and (3) an exhortation to repentance and baptism/salvation. Steven’s speech in Acts 7 has element (1) in detail, but very little on (2) and none on (3) before he was shut down by the crowd.

Third, a comment for today… Verse 22 includes the phrase, “…as you yourselves know.” How well does Peter know this crowd? How does he know that they know? Have they been bystanders as the Apostles have been regularly meeting in the temple? When did they have the opportunity to see Jesus performing signs and wonders? But Peter said it, so it must have been true!

Finally, …this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. (v. 23) The “definite plan and foreknowledge” could merit a good discussion, but I was more interested in the “lawless men”. Always I had imagined something like Peter referring to a bloodthirsty mob, when in reality it simply refers to “men without the Law”, that is, Gentiles. A very different take on my old thinking!!

Slava Bohu!