Title: No other Name

Text: Acts 4:1-12

FCF: We often struggle humbly recognizing our exclusive need of Christ.

Prop: Because God gives grace to those humbled to see their need for only Christ to save them, so we must believe on Christ alone.

Scripture Intro:

[Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Acts chapter 4.

Last week we looked at episode 2 of the narrative we began in chapter 3. We’ve seen the miraculous healing of a lame man made whole by faith in Jesus of Nazareth. In his example we saw the gospel on full display. How God, from beginning to end, is the author of our great salvation.

Moving on from there, we saw Peter respond to the crowds marveling. He told them that they should have been prepared for this. The prophets have spoken about the Great High Priest, the Eternal King, and the Great Prophet. They spoke of the time when God would save them and about all the miracles that would occur around this time. And Peter makes it plain that if they have any hope to return to Yahweh and worship Him and please Him – they must go through Jesus of Nazareth – the Messiah of God – Yahweh’s Servant.

Today, we will see the first conflict the fledgling church will have with the Jewish leaders. The religious elite of Israel will confront Peter and John for what has happened in the temple. Will they begin a revolution? Will they deny Christ? Or will they stand firm in the power of His grace.

I am in Acts 4; I’ll begin reading from the LSB today in verse 1. You can follow along in the pew bible on page 1233 or in your preferred version.

Transition:

We have much to get to today and many passages to look at. So let us dive right in this morning.

I.) God has always given grace to the humble but scoffed at scoffers, so we must believe on Christ alone. (1-7)

a. [Slide 2] 1-2 – Now as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them, being greatly agitated because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.

i. Let’s identify these three groups of people and see why Peter and John may have drawn their attention.

1. The priests

a. The priests were Jews of the tribe of Levi and of the family line of Aaron who were tasked with facilitating the sacrifices that were offered on a daily basis in the temple.

b. These priests were heavily influenced by the Sadducean view of Judaism. Which would have caused them to be irritated at the teaching about the resurrection.

2. The captain of the temple guard

a. The temple guard are a group of Jewish soldiers, who functioned like police officers, appointed to keep the peace on the temple mount.

b. Of course, the captain of the temple guard would be especially drawn to Peter and John because they were making a scene.

3. The Sadducees

a. The Sadducees as we said last week were a religious sect of Judaism which denied the resurrection, the afterlife, the spiritual realm, and the inspiration of any Old Testament book except for the first five (The Pentateuch).

b. The Sadducees despite being relatively few, held the majority of the seats on the Sanhedrin and therefore held the majority opinion on political matters.

c. As we said before, they also had heavy influence over the priest and High Priests which gave them religious influence.

d. It is not simply the teaching of the resurrection that the Sadducees took issue with – although they would highly disagree with it. But to arrest Peter and John for the teaching on the resurrection alone would have put them at odds with the Pharisees, which was the more popular Jewish sect among the people.

e. Instead, it was for the teaching that the resurrection was in Jesus. This would have been equally opposed by both Sadducees and Pharisees.

ii. To sum up, all three groups for various reasons and to various degrees, wanted these men to be quiet!

iii. They also, collectively, had the power to make them be quiet.

b. [Slide 3] 3 – And they laid hands on them and put them in jail until the next day, for it was already evening.

i. There are several details of the narrative that emerge from this short little verse.

ii. First, we see that in order to silence them they laid hands on them or they arrested them.

iii. However, it was not lawful to have a trial in the evening. And so, to follow the law, they must imprison them and wait until morning.

iv. Another point made here is to exactly how long Peter and John had been on the temple mount. Remember they came to worship during the hour of prayer which was the 9th hour or 3pm. It is now evening, which could be interpreted in a couple ways. Either 6pm which would generally mark evening time. Or any time after the sun had set.

v. In either case they had been on the temple mount now for several hours having healed this man, praised the Lord with him, and preached this message about Jesus being the only way to return to Yahweh.

c. [Slide 4] 4 – But many of those who had heard the message believed, and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.

i. Here Luke tosses us a key detail that was omitted from Peter’s sermon. The response.

ii. There is no consensus on how to interpret this number. The views diverge on two categories. First, is this 5,000 more who are added to the church or does this bring the church up to 5,000 total? Second, are these only men or are these men and women?

1. The crux of the argument for whether this is just men or men and women centers around the Greek word Aner.

a. Most of the time it is used to refer to men or husbands.

b. VERY infrequently it can be used to talk about people in general.

c. But with the weight of the most common usage of the word and the somewhat muted allusion to the narrative of Jesus feeding 5,000 men, it seems that Luke is recording only the men who have believed.

2. If we take this as only a report of the men it makes the second issue less significant.

a. If Luke records that the church had grown to include 5,000 men, this would suggest rapid growth in the early church.

b. It does seem a bit farfetched that Peter’s sermon reached 5,000 people, let along 5,000 of just men that day.

c. But he was there for several hours. And as we’ll see next week, the Jewish leaders were quite scared of what the people might do if they punished the apostles publicly.

d. In any case, we can determine that the church grew substantially as God continued to add to their number and that Peter’s sermon was extremely effective.

d. [Slide 5] 5-6 – Now it happened that on the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem; and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent.

i. Here we see other groups gathered together the next day. And they all will be audience to the trial of Peter and John.

ii. The rulers, elders, and scribes. These are the three basic groups from whom the Sanhedrin council would be formed. Those who were politically powerful nobles (the rulers), those who were tribe leaders (the elders), and those who were experts in the law (scribes which were probably mostly made up of Pharisees).

iii. The fact that Luke is describing the Sanhedrin council is all but confirmed when we read that Annas the Jewish high priest was there too.

iv. Not only him but his son in law Caiaphas who was the Roman high priest, John and Alexander who would become High Priests during the time of Acts. And the rest of those of high priestly descent – meaning the rest of Annas’ family.

v. The High priest, his family, and former high priests also sat on the Sanhedrin council.

vi. In short, many of the 71 member Sanhedrin council happened to be at the temple this following morning to hear the trail of Peter and John.

e. [Slide 6] 7 – And when they had placed them in their midst, they began to inquire, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?”

i. In the Roman system they would allow the Sanhedrin council to govern most of Judea as long as it was not a capital crime.

ii. The Romans always reserved the right to intervene on any case, but often would side with the Sanhedrin council to maintain the peace.

iii. In this particular case, Peter and John would have been charged with disturbing the peace and possibly false teaching. For this they most likely faced being whipped 39 times.

iv. What is the Sanhedrin asking of Peter and John by asking by what power or in what name they’ve done this?

v. Luke actually had recorded a very similar event that happened to Jesus in Luke 20.

vi. In fact, it is so similar and has so many roots to what we will discuss today that we must turn to the passage and unpack it together. We won’t read, but I will summarize verse by verse. So, try to follow along.

vii. [Slide 7] Leave your finger here too, because for now we will only address the first eight verses. Later we will look at the rest.

1. Jesus too was proclaiming the gospel in the temple. And the same group of people came up to him to question what he was doing.

2. They asked the exact same question that these people ask Peter and John. By what authority, by what power, or in whose name have you done this? And who gave you that authority?

3. Another layer here, both in Acts and Luke, is that these leaders ask this question assuming that they were the ones who could give authority to speak or teach in the temple. They were, after all, the religious experts.

4. Jesus, as He often did, answered their question with a question. He asks, essentially the same question to them about the baptism of John. Jesus does not leave the question as a fill in the blank, but instead gives them a multiple-choice answer.

5. Typically, when we are given a two-answer multiple-choice question, we have a 50/50 shot at getting the right answer.

6. For the chief priests, scribes, and elders that day, both answers had dire consequences.

7. If they said that John spoke with the authority of heaven – then the people would reject them. Why? Because none of them had been baptized by John. None of them had listened to John. If John spoke from God – they weren’t listening – even though they were supposed to be the spiritual leaders.

8. If they said that John spoke from the authority of men – then the people would reject them. Why? Because all the people believed that John spoke by the authority of heaven and was a prophet of God.

9. Jesus points out the religious leaders’ problem. It was not Jesus’ authority that was in question. It was their authority that was in question. They refused to listen to someone that everyone else saw as sent from God. In truth, it didn’t matter where Jesus said His authority came from – for they would find fault in whatever He said. Their hearts were hard and their necks were stiff.

10. Because they answered “We do not know” Jesus tells them that He will not tell them where His authority comes from.

viii. Coming back to Acts 4, we see the same people asking the same question after the same power and authority of Jesus has been demonstrated to the same degree with even greater results.

ix. We are left to wonder… how can these “religious” these “pious” leaders of Israel be so blind? How can their hearts be so hard? How indeed.

f. [Slide 8] Summary of the point: In I Corinthians 1:27 Paul states that God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise and the weak things to shame the strong. The temple mount is absolutely going bonkers because everyone can see that a miracle has taken place. Many people who listened to Peter’s plea to come back to Yahweh through faith alone in Christ alone – did just that! They believed! They joined the church. And yet, the spiritual leaders of Israel, the high priests, the priests, the temple guards, the rulers, the elders, the Sadducees, the Pharisees the scribes – ALL OF THEM – couldn’t see it. All of them didn’t want to see it. Why? Because they didn’t want to yield control. Therefore, the Old Testament proverb (3:34) is affirmed – God scoffs at the scoffer but gives grace to the humble.

Transition:

[Slide 9 (blank)] So, we’ve seen the hard heartedness of the spiritual leaders. How they know the scriptures but have not listened. How their primary goal is to keep power and authority in Israel. Such prideful men are unable to receive the truth that they need a Savior let alone that it is Jesus Christ alone that can save them. But what is the apostles’ response to their question? What more can we learn from this episode with the Spiritual leaders of Israel?

II.) Christ is the only way to be saved, so we must believe on Christ alone. (8-12)

a. [Slide 10] 8-9a – Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people, if we are being examined today for a good deed done to a sick man,

i. Peter speaks before the rulers of the Jews.

ii. The same rulers who crucified His Lord only a few months prior.

iii. But this isn’t the same Peter who couldn’t defend His Lord from them. This isn’t the same Peter who denied His Lord three times.

iv. No. This is a Spirit indwelled and Spirit Filled Peter.

v. Before Peter was only brash. Now Peter is bold! Bold in the grace of God through His Spirit’s filling.

vi. Peter makes the same case that Jesus made. He appeals to what everyone seems to be able to see that the rulers cannot. He also does not answer their question – at least not initially. His first response is to try to show these “religious’ rulers… that they are blind if they cannot answer their own question.

vii. Peter’s question in our vernacular is this…

viii. Are you really putting us on trial for healing a man whom no one could heal? Is this really what you want to do?

ix. Do you really want to punish us for helping someone who no one could help but God?

x. Very well…. I’ll answer you…

b. [Slide 11] 9b-10 – as to how this man has been saved from his sickness, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead – by this name this man stands here before you in good health.

i. How has this man been saved? The words “from his sickness” are added by the LSB. Although the usage of the word “to save” can include a wide range of meaning, from healing to setting free, to delivering – we can see that the most obvious deliverance for the man would be his physical healing. But perhaps Peter hints at more here by leaving it ambiguous. As we’ll see, by the end of his defense he will use the same word to refer to salvation from judgment of God.

ii. Still – he moves to answer both questions with the same answer. How was this man healed of his physical and spiritual affliction?

iii. Let everyone know. Not just you leaders but every person in Israel – that only Jesus the Nazarene saves. You may have murdered the Author of life in ignorance – but the time for ignorance is over. Now if you are to reject Him, you must do so knowingly and willfully.

iv. Peter makes it clear… the authority that healed this man, the power that did this, was in the name of Jesus the Nazarene. Jesus the Messiah of God.

v. Then Peter references Psalm 118:22.

c. [Slide 12] 11 – He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief cornerstone.

i. To accurately understand the layers here we must go back to Luke 20 to look at verses 9-19 and then to Psalm 118 to look at all that is being said in this psalm.

ii. That means that we have QUITE A BIT of work to do to catch up to what the Sanhedrin should have understood by Peter saying what he said.

1. [Slide 13] First, the Sanhedrin as well as Theophilus should have recognized this same response in Luke 20. See Jesus did not stop at his non-answer. Let’s turn back there and we’ll unpack the rest of Jesus’ response.

a. Jesus begins with a horrific parable.

i. A man plants a vineyard and rents it out to vine-growers to manage. Then he goes on a long trip to a far away place.

ii. At harvest time, he does not come himself, but sends a slave to both check on and receive some of the fruit of his own fields.

iii. The slave returns to the owner not only without grapes, but also with many bruises since the vine-growers beat him.

iv. The kind owner sends another slave who was also beaten and treated poorly and returned, again, with nothing.

v. Still the compassionate owner sends another slave who was more than beaten but wounded.

vi. And… still… the longsuffering owner does not come to destroy them. Instead, he sends his own son. The heir of the vineyard. He sends his son thinking surely, they will respect him.

vii. When the vine-growers see him coming they foolishly think that if the heir is dead that somehow, they will inherit the vineyard. So, they throw him out of his own vineyard and kill him.

viii. What is the owner to do now? He shall return and destroy all the vine-growers and give the vineyard to others.

b. The response of the people in general is recorded in Luke 20. It is May it Never Be. It is one of the strongest ways to say NO in the Greek Language. This is why some translations actually have it as “God forbid!” Even though this is not a word for word translation.

c. The people in general hope that such a thing would never happen. Just for clarity, they are not disgusted by the response of the owner… for the owner was just and merciful. Instead, they are disgusted by the actions of the vine-growers.

d. But as the record continues Jesus looks at them all and quotes Psalm 118:22. Comparing this whole situation to a cornerstone that was rejected. And all who rejected the cornerstone either trip over it or are crushed under it.

e. Finally, in verse 19, the religious leaders recognize the not-so-veiled comparison to them.

i. That God had entrusted the worship of Yahweh and the teaching of the law to them.

ii. That God had sent several prophets to warn them that their ways were wicked and to demand righteousness. Including of course, John the Baptist – whom they did not accept.

iii. He even sent His Son to correct them and gain a harvest from them. But they will kill Him, thinking they will keep the authority God had given them.

iv. Instead, they will be utterly destroyed.

f. The religious leaders – recognizing these things attempted to arrest him right then and there -but they could not because… again… they feared the people.

2. But the Sanhedrin in Acts should not simply have been reminded of this earlier encounter with Jesus. They instead should have been drawn to the teachings of their own scriptures. Both Jesus and Peter refer here to Psalm 118. A remarkable psalm that the Targum (which is an ancient Aramaic commentary on the Old Testament) claimed to be about the Messiah. Let look at Psalm 118 together.

a. [Slide 14] Prior to the Targum, this psalm would have been applied to King David and Israel. We’ll see both interpretations as we go through this with some interesting flip flops along the way.

b. 1-4 - Notice the three groups of people who are encouraged to say of Yahweh “His Love Endures Forever!” It is the people of Israel, the house of Aaron (or the priests) and those who fear Yahweh - which could be anyone, even Gentiles.

c. 5-9 – King David or his Messianic heir looks to Yahweh in his distress and Yahweh rescues him. For this the Davidic King says that there is no one better than Yahweh to trust. Including princes. Or nobles. The nobility is where most of the Sanhedrin was selected from… by the way. Just a little tid bit there for you.

d. 10-14 – The nations gather against the Davidic King, yet Yahweh enables Him to destroy them. Kinda sounds like the vine-growers right? They surround them like bees… kinda sounds like the Sanhedrin council surrounding Jesus and Peter and John. And what a turn that the nations who opposed Israel and David are now the religious leaders of the Jews…

e. 15-18 – In this the Davidic King and the right hand of Yahweh seem to be intertwined. Joy comes from those who are righteous. The Davidic King was disciplined severely but not given over to death.

f. 19-21 – First the Davidic King goes through the gate of righteousness, then all who are righteous go through. He gives thanks for Yahweh being His salvation.

g. 22-29 – The final section of the psalm opens with words that Jesus and Peter quote.

i. Notice that the pronouns switch to plural. It is no longer I but us and we. That means that this is no longer the Davidic King speaking but the people whom He leads.

ii. Next notice that the stone that was cast aside becomes the most important stone in the building. And because it has become that cornerstone, Yahweh’s salvation is complete. Indeed, the day of that salvation is one that Yahweh has made. They should rejoice for this day is the day of their salvation.

iii. Then the people say blessed is the one who comes in the name of Yahweh – which is what the people said when Jesus came to Jerusalem for His triumphant entry.

iii. Coming all the way back to Acts 4… we see that the Sanhedrin should have been struck by the answer. For Jesus and Peter answered the question.

iv. By whose power and authority did they do these things? Jesus came in the name of Yahweh… for He is Yahweh the Son… the stone the builders rejected but who became the most important stone. And Peter did this mighty healing by the one who came in the name of Yahweh.

v. He is the one who entered the gate of righteousness. And He is the one who offers the gate of righteousness to all who would follow Him. This is the day the Lord has made… the day that Yahweh saves. In verse 25 the Hebrew text of Psalm 118 reads O Yahweh Save! O Yahweh Succeed!

vi. Remember, my friends, that the name Jesus is the name Joshua in Hebrew… which means…