Resisting the Gospel, Resisting the Resistance

Acts 4:1-31

We know that when God works, Satan also works. When God created Adam and Eve to be his people, Satan sought to destroy God’s people. When Israel was saved from famine and brought to Egypt, they multiplied, and Pharaoh sought to kill their boys. When the prophets preached against Baal, Jezebel killed them. When Christ was born, Herod sought his death - killing babies in Bethlehem. Satan worked to tempt Christ; and when he couldn’t, entered Judas to betray him. But what he didn’t know was all things work out for good. By killing Christ, God’s will was accomplished. Satan tried to resist the gospel, God resisted his resistance - and many were saved.

And this is the lesson we must learn. There will always be resistance when we seek to live the gospel. When we want to be holy - the flesh will be weak. If you want to be godly, you will be persecuted. 2 Timothy 3:12 - “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” If you serve Christ, you will be resisted. The gospel that leads to salvation also brings persecution. It can’t not come. If the world hate you, it hated me first. But here is the guarantee. If you live for Christ, despite the opposition from the world, you will grow in grace and be a witness. From this passage we learn that firstly, we should always expect angry and strong resistance when we live for Christ; secondly, but we must persevere in living for Christ because Christ saves through the gospel; thirdly, we must give resistance to the resistance by trusting God’s sovereignty.

Firstly, we should expect angry and strong resistance when we live for Christ. After the lame man was healed, he leapt and praised God. The people saw and Peter preached and offered Christ. And the priests were unhappy. Verses 1-2 - “And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead.” 3 groups of people came. The priests, captain of the temple, and the Sadducees. When the gospel is preached, people in power are threatened. Now, this was a large group confronting 2 apostles. There were the priests - a large number serving their 2 week course. There was the captain of the temple. Temple guards kept in order the thousands entering and leaving the temple. They kept priests in check - that no unclean priest would enter the temple. They also stopped the Gentiles from crossing the middle wall of partition. So the chief was the chief police priest. Then there were the Sadducees - rich priestly nobles. They had wiggled their way into influence during Greek rule and ran temple operations. Their only concern was staying in power. That’s why they killed Jesus. Now, why so many people to confront 2 apostles? Why the strong show of resistance?

Verse 2 says they were aggrieved. People get angry when their values and power are challenged. The Sadducees gained power through their close ties to the former Greek rulers. And they in turn were influenced by Greek teaching. Despite being Jews, they rejected the Bible’s teaching on the resurrection. When Caiaphas’ daughter-in-law’s tomb was discovered, coins were found placed on the eyes of her corpse. This was Greek religion. To get to the afterlife, the dead had to pay Charon, the boatsman to take them across the River Styx. As priests, they taught the people. But Peter was preaching opposite to them. How dare he? He’s a fisherman, not a priest!

But more importantly, his teaching threatened them. They worked hard to kill Jesus after months of planning. They bribed an inside man, threatened Pilate, got false witnesses. They spent money. But when Jesus was finally dead, these fishermen said he was alive and healed a lame man. Rather than rejoicing the lame man was healed, they were angry, because it didn't benefit them. Their influence would weaken. They’d seen the great number of converts - 3000 at Pentecost and now another batch of converts.

As a result, those threatened by the gospel will act against the people of the gospel. Verse 3 - they arrested and imprisoned. Because it was evening, they couldn’t question them further. The temple closed after the evening sacrifice and prayer. It would also give them time to plot - to gather the Sanhedrin the next day. And a night in prison would help Peter and John reflect. You sure you want to oppose the establishment? We crucified Jesus. Perhaps they’d be scared into compliance. So the next day in verse 5, the Sanhedrin interrogated them. This was the 71 Sadducees, elders, and Pharisees who ruled Judea and Galilee. Verse 6 says Annas the High Priest and Caiaphas were present. They led the kangaroo trial against Jesus. They sat in a U-shape conference style. The High Priest sat at the head with 35 on his right and left. The accused would be in the middle, as we see in verse 7. And here, we know their power was threatened because the High Priest moderator said, “By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?” And they said it in the most insulting way possible. In Greek - “by what power or in whose name, all this doing, you?” “You” was placed last for maximum insult. Those threatened will act to threaten the godly. But what will the godly do?

They will persevere to live for Christ because Christ saves through the gospel. That’s the second point. Despite their imprisonment, they’d continue to witness. Peter responded to the question. In verse 8, he was filled with the Holy Ghost, being taught by Christ. His witness was bold and plain. He answered them - “Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel.” Do you know why he was bold? Verse 4 says that 5000 men believed. “Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.” This means that including women and children, it could be more than 10,000. Christ saved these people by his preaching. And not just that - the lame man was healed by Christ. So to this council, Peter asked in verse 9 - why are we being called into question for our act of kindness? What’s so bad about healing someone? He was lame, now he stands, leaping and praising God. You ask us by what name we do this. Well, we did it in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom you crucified, but God resurrected. This man stands here whole, by the work of Christ. Now, what this tells us is that the lame man was either brought back to temple, or he had been arrested along with Peter and John - and now, he was also on trial! For being healed. This shows that those who are threatened will threaten anyone and everyone for their ends. And in answering them boldly, Peter pointed out their guilt. The lame man brought to be a pawn to accuse Peter, became proof of the magistrate’s guilt.

And he pointed out their errors. He opposed their power and legitimacy when he said in Verse 11-12 - “This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Follow his argument. You rejected and crucified Christ, like a construction worker rejecting the chief corner stone. That’s foolish! Along comes the chief architect - God - who uses it to build the true temple. Your building will fail but God’s will not. These bold pointed words reversed the charge. They wanted to insult him - by what name do this, you? Peter’s response? By Jesus Christ - reject him, did you! Use him did God! Against God, are you! By what authority, reject Christ, did you? Your power will end. You’re redundant. That name and power? Jesus Christ - no other name whereby we can be saved.

This was unsafe for Peter. Then again, being a Christian is not safe - neither should it be. He was not unkind by telling the truth. No one embraces Christ apart from knowing their guilt. Over 10,000 had been saved by such words. So how can the gospel not be preached? And while these words brought salvation to others, it would also bring persecution to those speaking it. But it can also confound. The Sanhedrin was stunned. Verse 13 says they marveled when they saw Peter and John’s boldness. They noticed they were unlearned and ignorant men who had been with Jesus. This word “marveled” was used to describe reactions toward Jesus. When he calmed the storm, his disciples marveled. When he healed the paralyzed man, the crowds marveled. The Pharisees marveled when Jesus dealt with their trick questions. They now marveled at Peter. Perhaps they thought he would be intimidated. But because he trusted in Christ, he was fearless. Instead of being on trial, Peter put them on trial. He spoke how Jesus spoke. Jesus was a carpenter, Peter was a fisherman. Jesus confounded the elites with his knowledge of Scripture, and Peter was now interpreting Psalm 118 to them. Why? Because Peter spent time with Jesus. He had knowledge and boldness. To the Sanhedrin, it was like Jesus never left. We can only be bold if we spend time with Jesus. And this boldness silenced them. Verse 14 - “And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.” The evidence was there - they couldn’t refute Peter. They could mock Peter’s words, but not the live evidence. And that’s the same with us - if people can’t mock our life, they’re less likely to mock our words; but if they can mock our lives, they will definitely mock our words. But they couldn’t do either.

Here we see thirdly, that while powers that be resist the gospel, we must resist the resistance by trusting in God’s sovereignty. The Sanhedrin was at a loss. They were silenced. The words against them were true - but they would not repent. While such words had brought 5000 men to repentance, the 71 had too much to lose. After conferring in secret, verse 15, they realized they couldn’t deny the words or the miracle, verse 16. So in verse 17 they decided, “But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name.” So after throwing them in jail, belittling them, they could only threaten them not to speak in Jesus’ name, verse 18. We must never forget beloved, that faithful resistance to opposition can result in a good outcome. But how did Peter and John react? They resisted. Verses 19-20 - “But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” They refused to be silent. They had to obey God more than man. Now, note they weren’t rude. They already acknowledged the Sanhedrin were rulers and elders. But they could never obey that rule. And there is a cost to such resistance. Jesus had embarrassed the leaders many times and they took revenge. Peter knew full well what was coming. But he feared God more than he feared men. In verse 21, the Sanhedrin let them go because they feared the people, Peter would not obey the Sanhedrin because he feared God. The question that comes to us is this - do we fear God or man?

Not knowing what to do, the Sanhedrin freed them. This resulted in them praising God for his sovereignty. In verses 23-24, Peter and John, and perhaps the once lame man, reported to the rest what happened. And all started to praise God. They knew God was sovereign and the persecution was sovereignly appointed. They didn’t only praise God for good things, but difficult times. In verse 24, they praised - “Lord, thou art God.” Literally, Despot, you are God. They praised him for his sovereignty in creation - verse 24 - that God made the universe. Therefore, he was more powerful than the people he created. No one and no persecution can hinder his work. They praised him for his sovereign plan. In versus 25-26, they quoted from Psalm 2 to show how people opposed his appointed king, but they would not be able to. “Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.”

These were David’s words as a new king. People opposed him, Saul tried to kill him - but it was futile. And there were 4 kinds of people who opposed him - the heathen, the people, the kings, and the rulers. And what happened to David was only a foreshadow of what happened to Christ. Verse 27 tells us who opposed Christ. Herod the king tried to have Jesus killed - he escaped. Pontius Pilate the ruler sentenced Jesus to death - he resurrected. The Gentiles meaning the heathen - the Roman soldiers mocked him - he saved the Centurion. And the people of Israel rejected him, only to be saved by him. And this was not accidental - all was in God’s sovereign will. Verse 28 says they did whatever God’s hand and counsel determined them to do before they did it. What is God trying to teach his church from this passage? The Sanhedrin and all other governments are in God’s control. Their power, persecution, ability; inability, their threats, their silence - are all determined by him. Satan may try to work, but the gates of hell can’t prevail against God’s church. All his evil - even the crucifixion, fulfilled God’s purpose. This is why they praised him.

And this is why they they also resolved to witness with greater boldness. In verse 29-30 they prayed - “And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, by stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.” Their prayer was not for their safety, nor for less persecution, but they prayed for more boldness to be witnesses. They were commanded to be silent, and were threatened; but they asked God would free their tongues. In the face of certain persecution, they asked God for help to be even bolder. And their prayer was answered. In verse 31, God granted them power by the Holy Spirit. “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.” There was an immediate answer to their prayer. They prayed for boldness and God answered it by filling them with his Spirit. When they looked to God, he gave them what they needed to live for him in this world - to resist the resistance of the devil.

Dearly beloved, what are some ways we can apply today’s text? Now, it’s very easy for me to say - you must be bold in preaching the gospel. As Christians, we know that. But some of us may not be there. We’re not like Peter. Or rather, we’re like Peter during Jesus’ trial! We’re struggling. Messages like Ecclesiastes spoke to us, to give us comfort in a messy world. Or messages like Job - we identify with his suffering. We need sayang!

But we also need challenge. The call to live the gospel in the midst of opposition on this earth is also necessary. Christ has called us to be his people - holy and victorious. And it’ll be hard. Satan will oppose us. He tempted Eve and she sinned; he sifted Peter like wheat and Peter denied Christ 3 times; he tempted Ananias and Sapphira with preeminence and they lied to the Holy Spirit. Satan resists the gospel and the people of God. And we often give in. We must be bold to resist. But dearly beloved, we are bold to resist only when we’ve spent time with Christ. The Sanhedrin could tell Peter of all people knew how important this was. When his eyes were on Christ, he could walk on water - but when his eyes were focused on the waves, he sank. When he was with Christ, he could defend Christ at the Garden of Gethsemane. When he was away from Christ, he denied Christ thrice. So dearly beloved, we can only resist the world and temptation when we are walking close with Christ. Are you walking with Christ? Resisting the devil? Can people see that Christ has restored you from the lameness of sin? That’s the first application - let us be noted as people who have spent time with Christ - that our lives show it. Otherwise, whatever boldness we have will fizzle out. Don’t talk about standing up for Christ when we aren’t even walking with Christ. Or we may be strong in our words of resistance, but if our lives are not tenaciously living in the victory Christ brings, our words will be mocked.

Secondly, have we redefined our mission as Christians? The Christian’s mission today is just to survive in this world - to get through life, be moderately successful, to give our kids a good education and future, serve adequately in church and grow in knowledge; and be a witness when it’s convenient. But what happened to victory? Books written on church conflict have consistently pointed out that when we focus on secondary issues rather than the church’s mission, internal conflict grows. And you see that - insular churches without a gospel focus always have conflicts. The tea is made wrongly. The flowers don’t match the color of the hall. The musician is not playing in the right tempo. Or even doctrinal questions that go down to the minutiae. How many angels can dance on the head of a pin. When we have too much spiritual bandwidth because we’re not being witnesses, it will be channeled to internal conflict. But if we are preoccupied with living for Christ and witnessing, we will face resistance from without, that these internal issues become unimportant.

Thirdly, when we are holy, spending time with Christ - only then will we be unapologetic when it comes to the gospel. We won’t apologize for it. The time will come and already is when our faith will be resisted by those around us. When you live the gospel, preach the gospel, show forth holiness - people will oppose us. It could be your boss, family, teacher, friends. You will be placed on trial. Jesus had made a promise for such occasions. When you are brought before synagogues, don’t worry about how you will defend yourselves, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say. And that requires us to spend much time with Christ. Sometimes, we defend Christ very carnally. And that should never be the way. Immaturity in resistance does no service to Christ’s kingdom. But we must marry boldness with maturity. And we will not fall apart - rather we will praise God. May the Lord have mercy on us, that in the midst of resistance from the devil and the world, we will resist the resistance and live for him.

A. We Should Always Expect Angry and Strong Resistance to Our Gospel Witness

1. When the gospel is preached, people in power are threatened

2. People get angry when their values and power are challenged

3. Those threatened by the gospel will act against the people of the gospel

B. We Must Persevere in Our Gospel Witness Because Christ Saves through the Gospel

1. His witness was bold and plain

2. He pointed out their errors

3. He confounded them

C. We Must Resist the Resistance by Trusting God’s Sovereignty

1. We must resist at times

2. We must praise God all the time

3. We must witness with greater boldness