Bible Commentaries
Acts 3

IX

THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT –

THE HABIT OF THE EARLY CHURCH

Acts 2:39-3:1

So now we take up Acts 2:39-3:1 for exposition. The closing part of Acts 2:38 says, "And ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit," and Acts 2:39, “For to you is the promise and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call unto him." I take that last clause of Acts 2:38 – "Ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" – because of its connection with the succeeding verse; and so the question arises – what is meant by the gift of the Holy Spirit? Does it mean the ordinary graces of the Spirit, such as men received before Pentecost, and are receiving now, and have been receiving through all the history of the world, i.e., the convicting power of the Spirit, repenting power of the Spirit, and believing power of the Spirit? No, it does not mean that. The promise refers to the prophecy of Joel: "It shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour forth of my Spirit upon all flesh," and then this baptism in the Spirit is described. Peter says to the convicted men of Israel: "You have witnessed our reception of the baptism of the Spirit; you have seen its effect on us. Now, if you will repent and believe, and be baptized, ye shall receive that gift." He goes on to say, "For the promise is to you and to your children, and unto all that are afar off," limited by just so many as God shall call to receive it.

Joel says, "I will pour forth of my Spirit upon all flesh," i.e., all kinds of people – old men, young men, maidens, – the promise is unto you, fathers, and unto you, children of the fathers, and unto you that come from a great distance, afar off, whether of the dispersion of the Jews, or of the Gentiles. The "afar off" refers to all of those. "After your conversion, these signs shall follow them that believe" – that which comes after the baptism in the Holy Spirit. You who then will repent, who will believe, you shall receive the same thing that you wonder at in these. In Acts 2 Peter says, "Who was I, that I could withstand God?" And seeing that these Gentiles received the same gift which they had at the beginning, while he was talking to Cornelius and his household, the Spirit fell upon Cornelius and his household, and he began to speak with tongues. Peter says, "It was the same gift that came to us on Pentecost." So in Acts 19, when Paul asked certain disciples he found there, "Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?" he is asking if, upon their part, they have been baptized in the Spirit. That is what he means exactly. That being the meaning of the word "gift" in the passage, "ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit," because it was promised to them and to their children, and to just as many as God should call.

It means that the number of people to receive this baptismal power of the Spirit was limited to just as many as the Lord our God should call to receive it.

He could limit it to some Jews on the day of Pentecost, to some Gentiles afterward, as in the case of Cornelius; to some at Corinth, to some at Ephesus, and long enough to fully accredit the church before his call on that was brought to a stop – just as many as he would call.

Is now expound Acts 2:42, particularly giving the four services that constituted the habit of the early church. The King James Version says, "And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." From that translation we get the idea that to continue steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine is to remain firm in the faith. That is not at all the thought of the original, however. They were constant in attending upon the following things: The teaching of the apostles, the breaking of bread, fellowship, and prayers. They were constantly attending or they were constant in attending upon the teaching of the apostles, who kept on with their teaching. It is the object of that verse to express a habit of the early church – a habit of continual attention to the following things: (1) Public worship; (2) the contribution worship (for that is what fellowship here means) ; (3) the Lord’s Supper worship; (4) the prayer meeting worship.

Let us put that into a little plainer English. If God converts my soul and I believe in Jesus my Saviour, the habit of my life must be along the line of that faith; and inasmuch as God has appointed the public services of his church, I will be constant in my attendance upon those services. I won’t stay away half the Sundays. If public worship is appointed by the congregation for every Sunday, then unless providentially hindered, I will be there at those services. Then in order to carry on the kingdom of God, if contribution services are appointed, I won’t skip those on the days appointed, whatever they may be, few or many; if observing the Lord’s Supper, I won’t stay from that. The meetings appointed for prayer, I will attend. That is the true sense of the Greek. It is one of the finest themes upon which any preacher can preach. Here were 3,000 people happily converted. They were brought into a new covenant, and these young converts were constantly attending all the public teaching of the apostles.

This is the literal Greek: "And they were stedfastly continuing on the teaching of the apostles"; "and they were stedfastly continuing koinonia," which has several meanings. Of course it expresses the idea of participation, and hence we sometimes use it in the sense of fellowship; they were constantly attending upon the "contributions."

The necessity for those constant contributions is seen from the context. The record says twice, epi to auto – all who believed were epi to auto, i.e., together; they were at the same place, and there were thousands of them there. There people were in a great revival meeting. The meetings were held every day. Some came from a distance, and there were necessary expenses involved in keeping that great crowd of people epi to auto – at the same place; and therefore there had to be a distribution of rations. They had to be fed, just as when we hold a big meeting – a camp meeting – and the people gather to stay through the meeting. From twenty to thirty miles around they came epi to auto, "together," or "at the same place." One brother says, "I will furnish so and so," so many hogs, for instance; another so many beeves, and another so much money, as in this case in Acts where the contributions were necessary. They had all things common.

They took those funds for the support of that meeting into a common fund, under the conditions of that great gathering, and they were held together at one place, just as we get a large sum of money, etc., for the camp meetings of today, barrels of ice water with cups, thus having meals all together. A long table is spread, and everything cooked is placed upon it. We have often seen that kind of a thing – great crowds of people coming together, having their meals, not separately, but "together." And in order that this big crowd be held together, some man was so full of the Spirit of God that he said, "To the end that this meeting may go on, I will bring all I have here and put it in the general fund." Later on we strike the account of that man doing it. But I am trying to show the force of epi to auto, together, or at the same place. It is a question of that pronoun reference, as to what "at the same place" means. That would put them together; therefore the word "together" should be translated, "that place," because they were at the same place. Therefore they were together. Many times in the New Testament the word which is translated fellowship evidently means contribution. I have not space to recite all the passages. We come to a number of them in the New Testament.

It was a great task to care for such a vast congregation, even for one day. The believers numbered 3,000, and a little later 5,000, not counting the women and children. Later still, it included a very great number, such as Greeks, and still later, when the disciples were multiplying and kept multiplying, there arose a complaint concerning the distribution of the provision for that great camp meeting, because some did not get enough, and did not get anything to eat. I have seen at camp meetings the bread or beef give out, and some of the crowd could not get to the table before it gave out.

This situation in the early church led to the appointment of deacons. The apostles said, "It is not reason that we should quit our preaching, our ministry, of the word, and go around and see that these people are fed, – that this great volume of food is equally distributed. It is all here common. You must appoint somebody to take charge of this. We cannot stop to serve tables. We have to attend to the preaching and prayer meetings – to the ministry of the word and of prayer. That is our special charge, so you bring business men here who can attend to that."

It was characteristic of those young converts, who were coming by the thousands, to continually attend all the public services – the preaching services, the contribution services for the support of the meeting, the services for observing the Lord’s Supper, and the prayer meeting services.

We used to have a big horn, a conch shell, a trumpet or a triangle, anything that would give a loud sound, at our big meetings, to announce the services as commencing. They would have a sunrise prayer meeting, a nine o’clock prayer service, a ten o’clock song service, an eleven o’clock preaching service, and then an afternoon service.

Next, in order that these young people and all new converts who were being brought into the church might be introduced to the ordinances of God, they would have the Lord’s Supper. Note that it is said of these converts that they formed four habits: Constant attendance on the preaching service, on the contribution service, the observance of the Lord’s Supper, and on the prayer service. And when you get a church to do that you have a power.

I preached on that text at a great meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. The most distinguished Baptists in the United States, and the most learned theological seminary professors, the presidents and professors of literary institutions, the great evangelists and missionaries, at home and abroad, some of them white-headed, just ready to go away to God, were present. I presented these four points as the points of power in the church: Constant attendance on these four services – that if a man wouldn’t dodge the preaching, nor the giving, nor the prayer meeting, nor the observance of the Lord’s Supper, he would not be very apt to backslide, but would keep in line. But if he was willing to attend the prayer service, and shut his eyes when the contribution plate was passed around, singing, "Fly abroad, thou mighty gospel," and yet put in nothing to make its wings flap, he convicted himself. He was leaving out one of God’s appointed methods of worship. Now we are enabled to interpret the next thing.

"And all who believed were epi to auto, ’at the same place,’ ’together’; epi to auto – kai eichon hapanta koina, and had all things common." This passage of scripture has given rise to the doctrine called "the community of goods." There are men now who say, "Let every one of us, whether rich or poor, put into a common pile everything we have, and then each one take out enough to sustain him every day." That is the key passage of the Scholastics. But is it the intent of this passage (Acts 2:44) to teach what is commonly understood as "community of goods," i.e., if one has $10,000 worth of property, another $5,000, and another $2,000, does this passage require you to lump in your money and to ride out even?

It does not, and here is the proof. I am going to show that there is no law here establishing what is understood as a community of goods. In order to do that I will turn a little forward, where the same matter comes up again. In Acts 4:34 we have this account: "For neither was there among them any that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostle’s feet: and distribution was made unto each, according as any one had need. And Joseph, a Levite, having a field, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira, his wife, sold a possession, and kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land? While it remained, did it not remain thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thy power?" This shows that his private ownership had not departed from him. It was not the object of the scriptures concerning this great lesson to teach that private ownership was done away with at all. It was a voluntary thing, done under the impulse of the great meeting that was going on to take care of all those people, to keep them together, epi to auto – at the same place. A man did not have to sell his property; he was not obliged to do it; but if he felt prompted to do it, in order that the meeting would not stop, he was not afraid to do it. But if he sold his land the money was still his; there was no law that required him to bring it all. But Ananias and Sapphira claimed that they had put it all in, but they had kept back part, telling a lie about it to God, or to the Holy Spirit, as if he did not know. They wanted to have the reputation that Joseph had, who sold all he had and brought the whole of it and put it into the fund. So they sold a piece of land, conspired together to fool Peter and to fool God – that they would go and say that they had received so much and that was all of it. But Peter says, "Ananias, that property was yours before you sold it, and after you sold it the money was still yours. Your offense is, then, that you said, ’We received for it so much and put the whole of it into the common fund.’ " So that Ananias’ case disproves any idea of "common property."

I will illustrate it: In the Madera Mountains, at the headquarters of the warlike tribe of the Comanche Indians, for many generations there has been a beautiful valley, plenty of water and plenty of grass, and when the moon is at its full, it is one of the best places in the world for holding a meeting. So every year they make great provision for a meeting. They say, "F. W. Johnson, what will you do towards it?" He says, "I’ll give ten beeves, and so many sheep." Another says so many quilts, another a big table, so that anybody may be invited to come. The crowd is too big to make it all into one table, however, and there is no time to average just what they give, but what they do bring there is "common." You step up to F. W. Johnson, or to W. D. Cowan, who are the main supporters of that meeting. You have just come, maybe a stranger riding horseback, and you say, "I’d like to have a place to sleep tonight – blankets, etc." "We have it for you," these brethren say; "just come here; everything is ’common.’ " Now that did not mean that Johnson sold all he had and put it in, but for the purpose in view it was truly a common affair.

There is a change from the American Version in the Revised Version of Acts 2:47 and Acts 3:1 which is a textual matter. Let us compare these two versions. The last verse of the chapter of the American Version reads: "Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." The Revised Version says, "Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to them day by day those that were being saved." Is there any church in it? No; "to them," epi tois, or epi to auto – the same phrase again. "And the Lord added" to the same crowd, the same place, daily such as were being saved. In the best of the Greek manuscripts the word "church," does not appear, but the Revised Version takes that epi to auto from the first verse in the next chapter and puts it there. In other words, Acts 3 begins epi to auto, and joins it together. "Now Peter and John were going up to the temple." We have no "together" in the Revised Version, and the revised is correct. It follows the true original manuscript. The "together" of Acts 3:1 in the American Version belongs to Acts 2:47, and this word "together" should be put there in the place of the word "church." The idea of the church is there. It was one church.

Is interpret this passage according to the Revised Version. Some later manuscripts give the idea as "church" by putting that word in, just like they put it in once before in the same chapter, where "church" does not occur, though the idea of church is there. It was an immensely big church. Before they got through, the way Is count it, there were 100,000 members right in Jerusalem, and the crowd just kept gathering by the thousands every day. It swelled and swelled, got bigger and bigger, all of the apostles preaching. Just like we would say, "Brother A. preaches in the First Church at 9 o’clock; Brother B. at the Second Church at the same hour, and Brother C. in the Tabernacle, while Brother D. will hold forth in the Court House." All over the town that great multitude gathered and had preaching. They were brought there and held together by the power of that meeting. If the reader would like to do a little private work, let him take an English-Greek concordance, and translate the word "fellowship" and see its relation to money. You will see that here it means participation in a money meeting, that is, a fellowship meeting. They had fellowship in the public services; fellowship in giving money’ participation in the giving of money; they had fellowship when the Lord’s Supper was observed; they participated m the prayer meeting, and everybody took part.

QUESTIONS

1. What is meant by the "gift of the Holy Spirit" in Acts 2:38?

2. To whom was the gift limited?

3. Expound Acts 2:42, particularly giving the four services that constituted the habit of the early church.

4. Why was it necessary for those constant contributions?

5. What church office was instituted here, and what the circumstances of its institution?

6. What was characteristic of the young converts in the Pentecost meeting?

7. Is it the intent of Acts 2:44 to teach what is commonly understood as "Community of Goods"? What the proof?

8. What illustration by the author of the scriptural idea of having things "common"?

9. What change from the Authorized Version found in the Revised Version of Acts 2:47; Acts 3:1, and what is the true idea of the passage?

10. Interpret this passage according to the Revised Version.

Verses 1-42

X

THE SADDUCEAN PERSECUTION

Acts 3:1-5:42.

Acts 3-5 are devoted to the history of the first great persecution of the Spirit-filled and accredited church, with attendant circumstances. This, quite naturally, was of Sadducean origin. (1) The Sadducees were the rulers of the people, dominating in politics, and through the high priest, dominating the Sanhedrin. (2) They were materialists, believing in neither angel nor spirit, nor in the resurrection of the body. (3) The great issue, publicly and boldly made by the Spiritfilled church, was that Jesus was risen from the dead and exalted to the sovereignty of the universe, and was demonstrating these great truths by unmistakable signs and wonders. (4) The people were being swept away by these demonstrations, so that what the Sadducees might well call "the last error" was worse than the first. (5) Hence the Sadducees had to meet this issue, so publicly and convincingly made, or else lose both political and ecclesiastical power. (6) Moreover, the demonstration of the resurrection of Jesus established his messiahship, and convicted the rulers of sacrilege and murder in putting him to death, so that they were on trial for their lives, their faith, their offices, and their political leadership.

This important issue had been forced on them by Peter. In his great sermon on Pentecost he had alleged in the presence of myriads of the people, from all parts of the world, the following things: "Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God unto you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, even as ye yourselves know; him being delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye by the hand of lawless men did crucify and slay: whom God raised up, having loosed the pangs of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it" (Acts 2:22-24). And again, "This Jesus did God raise up, whereof we all are witnesses. Being therefore by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he hath poured forth this, which ye see and hear" (Acts 2:32). And also, "Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God hath made him both Lord and Christ – this Jesus whom ye crucified" (Acts 2:36). He had introduced the testimony of the prophet Joel, and particularly the declaration of the great king, David. Three thousand of the people were converted in one day, and every day following vast additions were made to their number. The meeting was protracted. They held services publicly in the Temple every day. Money, by voluntary contribution, poured into the treasury. Their baptisms and observances of the Lord’s Supper were public and continuous. They were jubilant in praise, and had favor with all the people. The revival was a conflagration threatening to wrap all Jerusalem in its spiritual flame.

At this juncture occurred a public incident which forced the Sadducean rulers to take official notice of the great movement. In the very gate of the temple, Peter and John had wrought an amazing miracle on a well-known cripple, hopelessly lame from his mother’s womb; the miracle was wrought in the name of Jesus of Nazareth; a great concourse of the people were attracted to the scene of the miracle, recognizing the subject of it, witnessing the completeness of the healing, and standing in amazement before the miracle workers. Peter replies to their amazement (a) by disclaiming any power or holiness in himself and John to do this mighty work; (b) he boldly accuses them of denying the holy and righteous One, preferring a murderer instead, delivering him up to Pilate and forcing him reluctantly to condemn him, and of killing the Prince of Life; (c) that the God of Abraham raised him from the dead, of which fact they were witnesses, and (d) that through his name – through faith in his name – was given to this hopeless cripple, so well known to them, this perfect soundness in the presence of them all.

Peter further improved the occasion thus: (1) He admitted that spiritual ignorance caused the people and their rulers to commit so grave a blunder and so heinous a crime. (2) But the passion of the Messiah, foreshown by all the prophets, was thus fulfilled. (3) He therefore exhorts to repentance and turning, so that (a) their sins might be blotted out; (b) that great revivals might come from the glorified Lord; (c) that he must remain in heaven until the times of restoration of all things attested by all the prophets; (d) that this Jesus was the great Prophet like unto Moses, who according to Moses, God would raise up from among the brethren; (e) that whoever would not hear this prophet would be cut off from Israel; (f) that Samuel and all succeeding prophets foretold these things; (g) that they, as sons of the prophets and of God’s covenant that in Abraham’s seed, who is the Messiah, all nations should be blessed, were first offered the blessings of forgiveness. To this indictment of rulers and people and this marvelous exhortation, the people made great response. About 5,000 men, not counting women and children, were converted (Acts 4:4).

This issue, so made by Peter, was the boldest and most comprehensive challenge in all history.

It claimed all the books of the Jewish Bible, all their covenants and promises, all their patriarchs, mediators, prophets, illustrious kings and heroes, all their sacrifices and rituals. It charged sacrilege and murder in the rejection of Jesus. It affirmed the resurrection, the exaltation and the glorification of the rejected Lord. It preached repentance on account of this sin. It promised remission of sin and eternal life to those who believed. It threatened exclusion from the covenant of all the impenitent and unbelieving. It intimated a transfer of the kingdom to the Gentiles, if they persisted in their rejection, so the Sadducees had to accept the challenge.

The Sadducees felt compelled to respond to the challenge: (1) They arrested Peter and John, imprisoned them for the night, and held them to trial before the Sanhedrin on the morrow. (2) They gathered all the Sadducean kindred of the high priest, Caiaphas, including Annas, his father-in-law, ex-high priest, John and Alexander, thus assembling those most responsible for the crime of the murder of the Lord, and by thus gathering the special Sadducean kindred dominating the council. (3) The Sanhedrin itself was convened, and the prisoners set before it.

Their inquisition concedes the fact of the miracle, but demands, "By what power, or in what name, have you done this?" A prophecy of the Lord was thus fulfilled: "They shall deliver you up to councils." Our Lord had foretold and provided for this very exigency. He said, "Be not anxious beforehand what ye shall speak; for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Spirit" (Mark 13:11; Matthew 10:16-20).

In this foretold strait, Peter obeyed the direction of Christ, as we find in Acts 4:8-12: "Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders, if we this day are examined concerning a good deed to an impotent man, by what means this man is made whole; be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even in him, doth this man stand here before you whole. He is the stone which was set at nought of you, the builders, which was made the head of the corner. And in none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved."

That is the noblest answer in history.

The effect of Peter’s boldness on the council is thus described – Acts 4:13: "Now when they beheld the boldness of Peter and John, and had perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus." That council could not understand that ignorant and unlearned men) arrested and imprisoned, and brought before that supreme court of the Jewish nation, should stand there, not as prosecuted, but as prosecutors, indicting their judges. This shows that the power of preachers is not dependent upon, or I should say, not proportioned to the amount of their education, but it is proportioned to their being filled with the Holy Spirit, and to their being educated or trained in the Word of God. Dr. Alexander, of Princeton, had a theory that only college graduates should be allowed to be preachers, and they refused to receive into their seminary anybody who did not graduate at a reputable institution of learning. He was amazed to hear of some work done by a blacksmith, who never had been to school much, and he kept on hearing so much about this blacksmith that he, after investigation, was himself persuaded and convinced that this unlearned man did shake the gates of hell every time he preached to the people. Dr. Wayland, who differed altogether from the Presbyterians (he was a Baptist), about the absolute necessity for college education in order to preach, cites this case of Alexander’s honest testimony to something that he did not understand – and he never did understand how that blacksmith could be such a power for God in his preaching.

This is why I have said in one of my opening addresses before our seminary that while I would always encourage every man to get all of the education that his means and his family condition would allow, yet I would never be guilty of the folly of saying that only college men could be preachers of power, and that when any theological seminary took the position not to admit into its theological department any but college graduates, it took a position that would have prevented either Christ or any one of the twelve apostles from entering it.

Here were two indisputable facts: A miracle confronted the Sanhedrin, and it was a good deed of healing and mercy. How keen the sarcasm of Peter: "If we be examined this day for a good deed, healing this impotent man."

A well supported tradition exists among the Baptists of Virginia. It was in the period of the union of church and state. Two Baptist preachers were indicted for preaching without Episcopal license. This tradition says that Patrick Henry was employed to defend them, or took the case voluntarily, and that all he did was to stand up before the court and say, "What is the indictment against these men? Preaching the glorious gospel of the Son of God? Great God I That is the indictment! Are there no thieves going around unarrested and unconvicted? Are there no murderers upon whom to visit the vengeance of law, that you must indict and try men for preaching the gospel?"

This should ever be the challenge of the people of God: Here is our good work! Behold this monument of grace! This work was not done in a corner. It is self-interpretative. Here is a drunkard; look at him. See what he was, and behold what he is!

The result of the deliberation of this inquisition before the Sanhedrin seems a most impotent conclusion. It is expressed in Acts 4:15-18, thus: "But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been wrought through them, is manifest to all that dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But that it spread no further among the people, let us threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. And they called them, and charged them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus." That was their conclusion; so they called them back in again and charged them accordingly.

Acts 4:19-20: "But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to hearken unto you rather than unto God, judge ye: for we cannot but speak the things which we saw and heard." In other words, "You may pass any judgment you please. You are the earthly court, but so far as we are concerned, being under higher authority, we must ignore both your threat and charge, and speak boldly and openly what we have seen and heard." If one should wonder why the Sadducees stopped at a threat, the reason is given in Acts 4:21-22: "And they, when they had further threatened them, let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people; for all men glorified God for that which was done. For the man was more than forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was wrought." They had malice enough to kill them, but they were afraid of the people, and did not like to go before the people on such a case as that, with a forty-year-old man, who from his mother’s womb had been a cripple, and everybody knew him. It was a good thing done, and there he stood, perfectly healed.

Peter and John report the whole case to the church. Acts 4:23: "And being let go, they came to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said unto them." The church reports it to God. "And they, when they heard it, lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, O Lord, thou that didst make the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that in them is: who by the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of our father David, thy servant, didst say, Why did the Gentiles rage, And the peoples imagine vain things? The kings of the earth set themselves in array, And the rulers were gathered together, Against the Lord, and against His Anointed: for of a truth, in this city against thy holy servant Jesus, whom thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, were gathered together, to do whatsoever way thy hand and thy counsel foreordained to come to pass." Let us hear them pray: "And now, Lord, look upon their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants to speak thy word with all boldness, while thou stretchest forth thy hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of thy holy servant, Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken wherein they were gathered together; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spake the word of God with boldness."

This courage and fidelity on the part of leaders and people had a wonderful, fivefold result – first on themselves and then on others: (1) "And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and soul. (2) And not one of them said that aught of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. (3) And with great power gave the apostles their witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and (4) great grace was upon them all. For neither was there among them any that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto each, according as anyone had need." Persecution unifies God’s people; it increases their love for one another, and makes them sacrifice for one another; it opens their hearts and their purses. As an old sailor once said, "It takes a side-wind to fill all the sails." (5) lt developed great men, for example, Acts 4:36-37: "And Joseph, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas (which is, being interpreted, son of exhortation), a Levite, a man of Cyprus by race, having a field, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet."

From this it may be observed that in every meeting of very great power, when the root of things is gotten at, when the topmost twig is being shaken, when the sound of the wind is in the mulberry trees, when the fire is burning in every meeting of that kind, there suddenly steps out to the front some man who afterward shakes the world. That is one of the great powers of revivals of religion. It calls out heroes, who up to that time had never been awakened. Moreover, it exposes and eliminates hypocrites – for example, the marvelous judgment of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-10).

From three viewpoints this case is very instructive. It is evident that these two were swept into the church on the wave of a great excitement, without spiritual preparation. They could not understand the coming of the Holy Spirit, nor the mighty emotions and deeds of those around them who were filled with the Spirit. They had witnessed the heroic sacrifice of Barnabas, and coveted, not a similar spirit, but the credit of his deed, without the sacrifice. They conspired together to obtain this credit. They sold a piece of land, agreeing to keep back a part of the price, while affirming that the part offered was all they received. They had neither a consciousness of the presence of the omniscient Spirit, nor that Peter, as an apostle filled with the Spirit, could read their minds. They supposed they had only to fool a mere man. They were not prepared for the exposure, nor his awful sentence in Acts 5:3-5. They were filled with Satan – not the Holy Spirit. Similar tragedies frequently occur in great revivals. The shortest road to the eternal sin – the unpardonable sin – is from a great revival. Satan attends them, ever ready to suggest a quick way to instant and eternal ruin.

Indeed, it is only from a place of great light that the unpardonable sin can be committed.

A second viewpoint of instruction is the apostolic power of judgment. It was not often exercised, but always possessed. A similar case thus appears in Acts 13:6-12. Here again the apostle recognizes the presence of Satan opposing, through an agent, the work of the Holy Spirit. There are other New Testament cases, but these two illustrate.

I have often heard Major Penn and other great evangelists affirm that, on certain occasions, when the Spirit’s power was greatest, by a kind of spiritual instinct they felt the hostile presence of Satan working some form of opposition through some human agent. On one occasion I witnessed his dramatic exposure of this hostile occult influence.

A not less important viewpoint is the effect of this judgment (1) on the church, (2) on hypocrites, and (3) on outsiders. On the church it brought great fear (Acts 5:11); on the hypocrites it says, "Of the rest durst no man join himself to them" (Acts 5:13). It was getting too hot for hypocrites. It is only in lukewarm times that conscious hypocrites most seek to join themselves to the churches. People then come in without regard to the spiritual requirement – regeneration. Let the time come when "judgment must begin at the house of God," and the lightning begins to strike, they become very shy of joining the church.

What was the effect on the outsiders? The answer is found in Acts 5:14: "Howbeit, the people magnified them; and believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women." The power of the apostles grows: "And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people: and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch." That is an answer to the prayer found in Acts 4:29-30: "And now, Lord, look upon their threatenings; and grant unto thy servants to speak thy word with all boldness, while thou stretchest forth thy hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of thy holy servant, Jesus." Here Peter’s power reaches a climax in special miracles. Here we have it: "Insomuch that they even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that, as Peter came by, at the least his shadow might overshadow some one of them" (Acts 5:15).

My brother, J. M. Carroll, has a regular "sugar-stick" sermon on "The Shadow of Peter, or the Power of Influence." When you get so near to God and so full of the Spirit that the people will bring the helpless cases where you would walk along, so that your shadow might fall on some of them, then you may know you are at the topnotch of power. The author has a sermon on special miracles – "The Bones, Fringes, Shadows, Handkerchiefs, and Aprons." Here you have a miracle by a shadow. In Elisha’s case the miracle was by bones. In our Lord’s time they touched the fringe, the hem of his garment; and in the apostle Paul’s time they sent out aprons and handkerchiefs that had touched him.

The last two paragraphs of this chapter (Acts 5:17-42) recite a revival of the Sadducean persecution. The apostles not only continued their witness of the resurrection, but the Holy Spirit magnified their witness by mighty signs, wonders and Judgments, until vast multitudes were converted to the faith, and they grew to an astonishing height in love, faith, unity, and courage. The streams of the sick, of the troubled souls, that converged in a tide toward the apostles and the happy church, and every increase of the shouts of the healed and the joy of the redeemed, excited their wrath.

The record says: "But the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him [which is the sect of the Sadducees], and they were filled with jealousy, and laid hands on the apostles, and put them in public ward." [This time they get all of them in prison.] "But an angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them out, and said, ’Go ye, and stand and speak in the temple.’ " So they are to go right on preaching the word. And when the Sanhedrin the next morning sends for the prisoners, their officer cornea back with his finger on his lip, saying, "They’re gone." Another comes running in and says, "I saw them; they are right back there in the Temple, still preaching, and great crowds of people around." Then they send officers very quietly, without tumult or violence, for fear of the people, and bring them before the court again, and this is the inquisition now: "And the high priest asked them, saying, We strictly charged you not to teach in this name: and behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us."

That shows that Peter had hit the mark. He had been indicting them as murderers in every speech he had made, and now they see the point. They say, "You intend to bring this man’s blood upon us." Peter replied, "We must obey God rather than men." He repeats his accusation: "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew, hanging him on a tree. Him did God exalt with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins. And we are witnesses of these sayings; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God hath given to them that obey him." They do not make much out of that man, but were cut to the heart, and thought in their hearts to slay them.

The end of the Sadducean persecution comes in this way: An old man, Gamaliel, who was a Pharisee and the teacher of Paul, a doctor of the law and of great repute, requests that the prisoners be put apart for another consultation. Gamaliel makes a great speech, commencing with a word of caution (Acts 5:35). He then recites two well-known incidents of turbulent movements, which, though so threatening for a time, came to naught, and the agitators perished, and then hinting that this movement had higher ends, motives and issues, closes with the advice found in Acts 5:38-39. The record says, "And to him they agreed." But the context shows their agreement was only partial. (See Acts 5:40.) Just how weak and futile was their half- way measure appears from Acts 5:41-42. And so ended the Sadducean persecution. We may not leave the subject, however, without suggesting a dominant reason for their failure. Their unbelief in the supernatural utterly disqualified them for leadership.

Materialists who do not believe in angels, nor in spirit, nor the resurrection, but in this life only, never can carry the crowd. Therefore, the one who broke up this persecution, as we will see in another issue, was a Pharisee, who would not Join them on that issue. They were ready enough to join in the persecution in another issue, as we will see later, but they did not join in an issue of the resurrection, and that was the issue Peter had made – that Christ was risen. Therefore, we learn in our Lord’s time, as recorded in Luke 20:27-40, that when the Sadducees came to Jesus with a question about the resurrection, he replied to them, and the Pharisees sympathized with his answer in putting the Sadducees down. And in Acts 23, when Paul was arraigned before this very council, he divided the crowd by saying, "Brethren, the only thing against me is that I preached the resurrection of the dead," and instantly the Pharisee part of the council stood with Paul. They would not fight on that issue, and today you need not have any dread of any opposition that comes from a materialist. He can’t get a following, for all over the world men’s consciences and their nature teach that there is a life beyond this life – that there is a God and a place for the soul. The materialists, therefore, are a very small crowd; so the Sadducean persecution came to naught.

Before closing this chapter we recur, for practical observations, to several antecedent paragraphs lightly passed over in giving rapid history of the Sadducean persecution. First, the reply of Peter to the request of the lame man at the beautiful gate of the Temple: "Silver and gold have I none, but what I have, that give I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk."

It is related that a distinguished visitor on one occasion was waiting on the Pope, to whom the Pope showed all his treasures, jewels, the money, explaining that streams from all over the world continued to flow into this treasury. Says the Pope, "There has been a very great change since the first pope’s time) for Peter said, ’Silver and gold have I none.’ " "Yes," said the visitor, "and I am afraid there has been a very great change in another direction: that you cannot now make an impotent man walk; you have the silver and the gold, but have you Peter’s faith and power?"

We do well also to note that "silver and gold" are not the greatest, and most times, the best gifts in our power, and to be thankful for the fact, since otherwise only the rich could give.

Second, there can be no better example of true homiletics than Peter’s sermon to the people on the occasion of this great miracle. It equals his Pentecost sermon. It deserves a special analysis. It was a great occasion. Carlyle, on Stump Speaking, affirms that the first prerequisite to a great oration is a great occasion. It must not be manufactured to afford an opportunity for a speech. The stirring times and even the urgent hour must call for it. Then the speech must fit the occasion, and supply its calls and needs, leaving nothing more to be said.

There must be a man for the occasion, who, God-called and qualified, has something to say, and will so say it that action and not applause will cap its climax – prompt, decisive, fitting, and adequate action. All these conditions are filled in this case in Peter himself and the results.

The supreme court of the nation has put itself in opposition to the supreme court of heaven on the gravest question of conscience. Those who believed in rendering unto God the things that are God’s, were making an open, daylight, life and death issue. At the beautiful gate of the Temple God magnified their testimony by an amazing miracle. A beggar, crippled from his mother’s womb, and known to all the people, received as alms an instantaneous perfect healing. His frantic exhibitions of praise to God, and joyous, grateful clinging to Peter and John, drew an immense crowd whose speechless amazement and staring, louder than words, demanded an explanation. Peter’s sermon is that explanation.

ANALYSIS

1. He rebukes their marveling at the man: "Why should it be thought incredible that God should work a miracle?"

2. He rebukes their staring at him and John, as though this wonder should be attributed to either their goodness or power.

3. He attributes the miracle exclusively to his risen Lord, through faith in his name.

4. He then begins his indictment) seeking their conviction of sin, contrasting their way with the Father’s (Acts 3:13-15).

5. He shows again, without any attempt at harmony between free will and divine agency, that notwithstanding they had wickedly and murderously contributed to Christ’s sufferings, all these sufferings had been foreshown in all their prophets.

6. His tender heart next goes out to the indicted and convicted (Acts 3:17).

Here he introduces a new kind of ignorance characteristic of the New Testament, and delimiting the unpardonable sin. Theirs was not mental ignorance, for they had head knowledge of all the matters involved. They lacked spiritual enlightenment, without which the eternal sin cannot be committed. Compare the case of Paul. (See Acts 26:9; 1 Timothy 1:13.) See also the veil over the hearts of the Jews when they read Moses, 2 Corinthians 3:5, and compare Hebrews 10:26-29. And yet this spiritual illumination does not necessarily reach regeneration, for the regenerate cannot commit the unpardonable sin (see 1 John 5:16-18). Nor does spiritual conviction always result in that contrition or godly sorrow which worketh repentance unto life.

7. He now comes with great clearness and force to his exhortation and application (Acts 3:19-21). .Here he finely discriminates between repentance and conversion. Logically a change of mind must precede a change of life course.

8. But we are particularly interested in the motives toward, or the results conditioned on the repentance and conversion enjoined. These are three: (1) "So that your sins may be blotted out." (2) "So that there may come seasons of refreshings (i.e., revivals) from the presence of the Lord." (3) "So that he may send the Christ who hath been appointed for you, whom the heavens must receive until the times of restoration of all things." This part of his exhortation bristles with eschatological doctrine. It fixes far off the final advent of our Lord.

It unquestionably teaches, as many other scriptures, that the dramatic conversion of the whole Jewish nation, so vividly described by Paul, Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Isaiah must not only precede the advent, but the advent itself cannot be until all prophecies of antecedent events have been fulfilled.

9. His sermon closes with the identification of the prophetic Messiah with Jesus of Nazareth, and suggests him, not only as their Messiah, but the one "in whom all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

Third, Acts 4:31: "And when they had prayed, the place was shaken wherein they were gathered together." This miracle on nature, like the earthquake which followed the midnight praise and prayer service of Paul and Silas in the Philippian Jail (Acts 16:25-26), caused the solid earth to respond in thrills to its Creator’s mandate.

Fourth, Acts 4:32 (see the passage). From time immemorial this passage has been made the basis of the socialistic doctrine of "Community of goods – no private ownership of property." The contention is untenable. It is true and deducible from many other passages, that as against God, there is no absolute ownership of private property – and in the light of his stewardship no Christian can say, "Aught of the things I possess is my own." But it is not here taught that "Community ownership of private property is substituted for stewardship to God." This is certainly the teaching of Peter’s reply to Ananias (see Acts 5:4). It does prove, however, that individual owners of private property, moved by love to God, did voluntarily sell their goods, and put it into a common fund for the necessitous believers. This was a charity fund for the poor in a great necessity. This necessity arose mainly from the Jews of the dispersion, enumerated by nations in Acts 2, lingering so long in Jerusalem to attend the great revival meeting commencing at Pentecost and lasting until the Christian part of it was all dispersed abroad by the Pharisee persecution under Saul of Tarsus (see Acts 8:1-3; Acts 11:19). This is further evidenced by the necessity for the office of deacon (Acts 6). It became too burdensome a matter for the apostles personally to distribute daily the alms of this common fund. There is no hint here or elsewhere of "community ownership of private property," but everywhere a custom of the churches to provide for their own poor, or in case of great necessity, for the poor saints elsewhere. See Paul’s great collections for the poor saints in Jerusalem, and his specific instructions to Timothy about each church’s home poor (1 Timothy 5:3-16).

Let us now explain Acts 4:4: "But many of them that heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand." Thus reads the Revised Version, and the King James has it: "The number of the men was about five thousand." Now, does that mean, with or without counting the 3000 on the day of Pentecost, that the number came to be 5000, or that 5000 were converted this day? It is based on the exegecies of the Greek, which reads: "The number of the men came to be about five thousand." Dr. Newman says it means that there had been about 2000 converted since Pentecost, 3000 that day, and by this time had come to be about 5000, counting men only. Meyer says the same thing in his Acts; the great exegete, Hackett, a Baptist, in his Book on Acts, also says it, as do a great many others. But I say that it means 5000 that day; 5000 heard the word that day and 5000 believed that day; and the number, as they kept hearing and believing, came to be 5000 men in all. There is no reference to any conversions connecting with any previous occasion, and if we look in the "Pulpit Commentary," Acts we find a fine Greek scholar saying that the grammar, although itself is a little doubtful in construction, is in favor of the position that 5000 that day were converted.

The Sadducees complained, saying, "You intend to bring this man’s blood upon us" (Acts 5:28). When they were crucifying the Lord, this very crowd said, "His blood be upon us, and our children." Peter is not putting the blood on them; they put it on themselves, knowingly and willfully. They had said, "His blood be upon us and upon our children." They took that responsibility then, and now they begin to realize it. But there is a greater realization ahead of them.

Nations, like individuals, are responsible, and when they complete their rejection of the Spirit’s witness, as their rejection of our Lord himself, the doom and long exile of this favored people will commence with the destruction of Jerusalem and last until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in.

QUESTIONS

1. What is the theme of Acts 3:1-5:42?

2. Why does the first persecution come from the Sadducees?

3. Who of the church was to the front in making this issue, and what the Scripture showing the issue?

4. What the public incident which forced the Sadducean rulers to take official notice of the movement, what the effect of the incident on the people, and what Peter’s reply to their amazement?

5. How did Peter improve the occasion, and what the analysis of his exhortation?

6. How did the people respond to this exhortation?

7. What may we say of this issue so made by Peter, and what in particular makes it so?

8. How did the Sadducees respond to the challenge?

9. How did they begin their inquisition?

10. What prophecy of our Lord was thus fulfilled?

11. What direction did our Lord give for such exigency?

12. How did Peter obey the direction of Christ?

13. What the effect of Peter’s boldness on the council?

14. What does this show as to the preacher’s power, and what heresy here pointed out?

15. What are the two extreme positions with regard to this subject? Illustrate.

16. What is the force of Peter’s answer? Give the Virginia illustration.

17. What may always be the challenge of the people of God? Illustrate.

18. What is the result of the deliberation of this inquisition before the Sanhedrin?

19. What was Peter’s great reply to their threatening?

20. Why did the Sadducees stop at a threat?

21. How did Peter and John and the church respond to the injunction not to preach, and to the threat if they should preach?

22. What prophecy was here fulfilled as indicated by their prayer?

23. What were the results to the church in this first issue with the Sadducees?

24, What illustrious man comes to the front and, as an example of this, what benevolence?

25. What awful judgment at this juncture, and what the three viewpoints of the case?

26. What was the effect of this judgment (1) on the church, (2) on the hypocrites, and (3) on outsiders?

27. What is notable in the apostles now, and to what prayer Isaiah 5:12 an answer?

28. In what did Peter’s power find a climax?

29. What sermon of the author here cited?

30. How did the Sadducees again take up the challenge, and what was the result?

31, What ended the Sadducean persecution, and how did it end?

32. Why the failure of all Sadducean opposition and persecution, and what illustration from our Lord’s time?

33. What the story of the Pope and the visitor, and what the important lesson of this incident in Arts to us?

34. What great example of homiletics in this connection, and how does it rank with his other recorded sermons?

35. What, according to Carlyle, are the prerequisites to a great oration, and how do the occasion and Peter measure up to these prerequisites in his event?

36. Give complete analysis of Peter’s sermon here.

37. What can you say of the earthquake of Acts 4:31?

38. What false doctrine founded on Acts 4:32, and how does the author refute it?

39. What does the passage really prove, and how is this further evidenced?

40. Explain Acts 4:4.

41. Explain Acts 5:28.

42. What greater realization was just ahead of these Jews?