Acts 4: 23-31
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Today’s reading is the conclusion of a long section in Acts. This section reminds me of watching a gymnastics routine at the Olympics. There’s been twists and turns, there’s been power and danger, there’s so much to take in, and then comes the landing. The passage today feels a bit like that, sticking the landing after a dizzying, dramatic sequence. So, what do we hear at the end of it?
What is Acts?
Acts is the second volume from an ancient, historical writer named Luke. In his first volume, Luke wrote a biography of Jesus (or what we now call a Gospel), and after putting Jesus’ life on paper, he continued to record the narrative. Acts starts with Luke telling us that his first volume was about “all that Jesus began to do and teach” (Acts 1). The word “began” is important in that sentence, as Luke’s second volume records what Jesus’ continued to do, only now through his Holy Spirit in the lives of his first followers. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, the author stresses that Jesus was no less present in the world but had flooded his followers with his Spirit so that they might be his hands and feet, sharing the truth about who he was and what he’d done with everyone.
Where are we in Acts?
In recent weeks we’ve covered the narrative from Acts 3 well into Acts 4. That’s a big chunk, so, let’s look back and put it into a very small nutshell.
Peter and John are two key leaders in the early Jesus movement, and we’re told that one day they go Jerusalem’s grand temple to pray. On their way in they meet a man who is about forty years old and who has been unable to walk from birth. The man asks them for money but they instead impart healing to him in the name of Jesus. Beyond shocked, the man jumps up and begins to cause a ruckus in the temple, drawing attention from everyone. A crowd gathers and Peter takes the opportunity to clearly and boldly share that the people of Jerusalem should receive Jesus as their Messiah and Lord, even if they had initially rejected him. That’s part one.
Part two. The temple authorities, who had conspired to see Jesus’ killed, obviously do not take kindly to Peter and John’s actions and preaching. As with Jesus, they aim to shut the men up, arresting Peter and John immediately. But it’s already too late, many take the message to heart and cross the line to side with Jesus, rather than with the authorities. Which is to say, more people become believers in Jesus and the movement grows to at least 5,000 in the city. Peter and John, however, are locked up and soon dragged before the high council to be questioned about their teaching and the healing of the man in the temple, all with the goal of silencing them. The high council is Israel’s leadership, elite men seated in the highest positions in the nation, and the group responsible for plotting Jesus’ death. But Peter doesn’t back down. He might have crumbled the night Jesus was arrested, but he doesn’t crumble here. “Filled with the Spirit” (4.8), Peter shares who Jesus truly is and how the city has been wrong to reject him, going so far as to say, “there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (4.12). But how does Peter find guts to say all this? First, we are told he is filled with the Holy Spirit, and second he’s crystal clear on where the highest authority lies. Peter and John revere God, over against even those in high office, saying “Which is right in God’s eyes? To listen to you or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (4.20).
And with those words Peter and John would have sealed their fate, likely being executed as Jesus was, but the high court couldn’t decide how to punish them since the people of the city were praising God, believing he was at work in these events. Afraid of the people (and finding themselves again on the losing end of a dangerous game with God) the high court simply tell Peter and John to shut up about Jesus, and the two are released.
The concluding scene (4.23-31)
That about brings us up to date. So let’s look at the passage we read a moment ago.
What did we hear at the conclusion of such a long and dramatic sequence of events, and what about it applies to us today? Let’s break up the passage into three simple sections. First, the reaction (what is the believing community’s reaction to this entire sequence of events)? Second, their response (what do they do about what’s happened)? And three, what’s the result of both their reaction and response in the passage?
The Believers’ Reaction (prayer together)
The first thing we heard in the reading was the Peter and John went back to the believing community and shared the report of what happened before the high council. They didn’t high tale it out of town, and they didn’t shield the community from the facts. The report was shared, and the initial response will be shared together also, as we heard, “they raised their voices together”. Let’s note a couple of things. Reading through Acts we don’t meet any believers who sound like one-man bands or look like lone rangers. Individually committed to Jesus though they may be, that foundation leads them into a togetherness with other believers expressed several ways. So, here’s a simple assumption check, as we too follow Jesus today, especially when facing hardship. When the going gets tough, believers stick together. If I call myself a Jesus’ follower, there’s no way around seeing that relationship outside the context of a form of community. We’re all in together, under Jesus’ name. And that can at times be sacrificial and inconvenient, but in an instance like this, there’s encouragement and strength because we have been given one another. That’s one reason why here at Living Waters our value of community isn’t just a trendy or nice word, it’s foundational to be being Christian.
But that assumption of togetherness aside, what’s the other reaction of the believing community? Do they draw up a campaign strategy to protect the church image? Do they arm themselves to defend against the threats? Do they dissolve the project, because things are getting out of hand? None of those. Luke tells us they react with prayer. And they react with prayer because of the authority they believe they’re living under, and the present situation they’re facing in the city.
Before we come to the content of their prayer in a moment, a word on the merits of reacting to hardship with prayer. Forgive me if you’ve heard this story before, but years ago I was sitting with a man in our church named Herb, a retired missionary, if there is such a thing. Herb has now passed but I remember speaking with about the year he and LaVerne moved to a country which was unwelcoming and even hostile to the gospel. Upon arrival Herb’s job fell through, a job which helped to justify their presence in the country. Not a good start, so I asked Herb what he did about such a daunting situation. “I prayed”, he responded. I asked him again, “yes, but then what did you do?” “I prayed”, he said. Worried he was missing my point I asked him a third time, “I know, I know, but what did you actually do about it”? And it was then I realized that Herb hadn’t misunderstood my question, but that I was missing his point. He said a third time, “I prayed”. For Herb, trusting and appealing to the Lord God Almighty wasn’t an add on to his plan or strategy, it was his starting point. Herb actively trusted and asked God for help. So when push came to shove, he put his money where his mouth was. He prayed.
This story in Acts reminds me of my conversation with Herb. When the believers face hardship, even opposition and threats, they reacted with prayer, by going to the one they trust the most because of where they believe the authority lies. Now, I’m not saying that prayer is the only thing believers should do when the going gets tough, but might prayer together be the most important, because of whom we trust holds the real sway? And it’s not us.
The Believers’ Response (The prayer itself)
So the believers hear the report of Peter and John together and they pray together, “lifting up their voices…” What’s the content of the prayer? Let’s walk through that because there are some crucial things to notice.
First, notice how Luke records how they address God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.” Just as in Peter’s early speech to the high council, the believing community is crystal clear on who they revere and trust the most. Here’s a thought, next time you’re facing something which seems daunting or insurmountable, why not try out language like that in prayer? That might remind us of who we think we’re talking to! So, the believers here are going to trust and side with the Lord of all creation, even under the weight of pressure and threats from the high council.
Second, notice how clear the believers are about to whom they are praying, but also their clarity on the moment, pressed through Scripture. They turn to God, and then they engage and utilize God’s word, the Scriptures. They quote Psalm 2 which is a passage about God’s plan and who he anoints to work out his plan, and how the nations are rejecting and rising up against him. They’re very clear on the moment. Notice also that the believers’ prayer now lumps Israel in with “the nations” who have risen up against the Lord’s anointed in Psalm 2. So, for the first believers, this isn’t about being on the side of the nations or the side of Israel (even though the believing community is mostly all Jewish at this point), this is about being on God’s side or not. And if this is how the Jesus’ moment got started, if these are our roots, then that rings as true today as it did back then.
Notice also that they again identify Jesus as “the Lord’s anointed”, which has been clear throughout Luke’s gospel and all through Acts. By rejecting Jesus, Isreal rejected the Lord God Almighty himself. There is also a mention that all of this has happened because of God’s power and will, decided beforehand, and we might wonder what that means. Taking the whole of the narrative into consideration, those words don’t mean that the who have rejected Jesus had no will or decision in it, because clearly there has been ample opportunity to welcome rather than reject Jesus all through the gospels and still here in Acts. It’s more so a reminder that even in the rejection and rising up against Jesus, God will still accomplish what he has set out to. God will use even the hard hearts to accomplish his plan. As our friend Rikk likes to say, “don’t play chess with God”.
And isn’t that one way of looking at the cross itself. We did our worst in death and through it God brought about life. We did evil and, with a kind of heavenly judo move, God turned it to good. When it comes to God’s power and will, and the good he’s determined to bring to his creation, we’re delusional if we think we’re going to frustrate or stop him. And that’s the case with those opposing Jesus and the first believers in this passage.
The third thing to notice in this prayer is the turn to asking. They are clear on who God is, they are clear on the situation and who’s setting themselves up against God, and now the believers ask for what they need, in line with God’s purposes. Let’s pause there again for a moment. We’re about to see that what the believer’s pray for, starts to happen. And that has something to do with their trust, their action, but it largely has to do with the fact that they are not praying that their will be done, but are praying in alignment with God’s kingdom and will. We might remember that prayer doesn’t work because we say the magic words, or because God likes us a little more today than yesterday, or we scrunch up our hands and force out enough faith.
Prayer is about aligning with his kingdom, discerning his will, and asking for what we need as we live within said kingdom and will. That’s why Jesus’ teaches his disciples to start with “your kingdom come, your will be done”. If we’re not in line with God’s kingdom and his will, we’ll end up frustrated. As one writer put it, “prayer is getting in one what God is (already) doing…” (Peterson).
Back to what else the believers pray. Now they ask. They ask for boldness, which was defined earlier as a “fearless confidence in the presence of high rank”. Effectively they ask for more of what Peter and John have exhibited. “Lord, give us the boldness to remember that as we talk about Jesus, we share it under your authority and eye.” Christian boldness, then, isn’t about bring brash, or argumentative, or disruptive, or offensive just because. It’s about sharing who Jesus is plainly, and knowing who’s authority we’re doing that in, even if faced with opposition. So the believers ask for boldness. Give us what we need to do our part.
They also ask for God to do his part. “Stretch out your hand…” and that sounds lot like Old Testament language. Well, here’s a reminder that the God we meet in Israel’s scriptures has been revealed in Jesus in the gospels, and they’re one and the same. The first believers are clear on that, so they appeal that God would continue to heal, do signs and wonders, all to back up the message about Jesus, and in the name of Jesus. And as we will read on in Acts, we see that happen time and again. God’s more at work, than they are.
God’s Action (already at work) and Response
So, we’ve seen the reaction of the believers, we’ve seen their response, and then we get God’s response to all this and what follows. “After they prayed, the place they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit…” Well, is it any wonder what Luke records next, “they (did in fact then) speak the word of God boldly.” Similar to Acts 2 and the arrival of the Holy Spirit, similar to the signs and wonders we see around Jesus in the gospels, Luke says it was pretty clear to everyone what was happening and who was at work among them. I’m not sure why this image comes to mind, but this feels like a big, thunderous, powerful two thumbs up from the Almighty.
Concluding
And that’s the landing. It’s quite an exclamation point on the narrative we’ve been in, before we move next week into the section of Acts. I wonder what we’re walking away with today. First, I’d ask us that. What are you hearing? What is coming through for you even as we listen now. Take a moment this week to ask not only what you’re hearing, but what is being said to you through God’s word, write it down in your phone or a notebook. Is Jesus saying anything to you about all this? Here’s a few things for I’d highlight.
As we heard, it’s helping to remember that I’m not a believer. Well, I am. But it’s more accurate to say that we are believers, and our togetherness is crucial. Acts shows us scene after scene of the believing community in prayer, or learning, or sharing, or going – always together. What does it mean to really commit to that togetherness in Jesus’ name as a church today?
Second, and more importantly, I think we can notice that the believers had sharp convictions about Jesus because they had sharp clarity on who Jesus was. So, in order to truly go God’s way, we need sharp clarity on Jesus, his character and kingdom, and those things must inform our convictions and how we apply them. The believers respond to the opposition in the way they do, because of who they think Jesus is and how they are to operate in his name. so, are our convictions, actions and reactions shaped by Jesus’s character and authority rather than our own ideas and assumptions or societal, even political trends?
Finally, I’d add this. God’s kingdom and will is something we have been invited into and have the choice to enter, not the other way around. This is the big picture, which brings endless small picture applications. Being a believer is less about inviting Jesus into my life but more so about stepping into his life. This isn’t to say the Lord isn’t interested in my life, just to say he has interests and designs far beyond my life which also don’t exclude it. And those designs stem from the roots of his generous, just and merciful character.
So, when the going gets tough, or when the going is easy, and every day in between, we need crystal clarity on whose love and life has saved us, who’s name we live under. And, as we do that, we can expect that we too are filled with his Spirit, and can walk in a humble but powerful boldness about Jesus, sharing him in endless ways.
Luke Knight 