Acts 4:1:31: Boldness in the Face of Persecution

Acts 4:1-31: Boldness in the Face of Persecution

We’ve been working our way through the book of Acts, and today we’ll be looking at Acts 4:1-12. In the previous chapter, Peter and John healed a crippled man and preached the gospel to the crowds that gathered. The story then picks up in Acts 4:1-12: 

1 And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand. 5 On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” 

We’ve been going through the book of Acts passage by passage, and the next passage we come to on that journey is Acts 4:1-31. And let’s pray before we dive in here. [Prayer]

Some of you may have heard the story late last year about the actress Ellen Page coming out as transgender and now identifying as a man. The announcement indicates that Ellen will now go by the name Elliot and is doing this in order to “purse my authentic self.” As you might expect, of course, this announcement was widely applauded in the entertainment industry and beyond. Many influential figures voiced their support for Ellen—now Elliot—such as Hillary Clinton, who tweeted “It’s wonderful to witness people becoming who they are. Congratulations, Elliot.”

And the reason I’m bringing this up is because it’s interesting to contrast Elliot Page with another, lesser known, figure named Becket Cook. Becket Cook also believes he’s found his authentic self but has a story that’s quite a bit different than Elliot’s. In an article published on The Gospel Coalition, he writes, “With a highly successful career as a production designer in the fashion world, I lived as a fully engaged gay man in Hollywood. I had many boyfriends over the years; attended Pride Parades in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York; and marched in innumerable rallies for gay-marriage equality. My identity as a gay man was immutable, or so I thought. But in 2009 I experienced something extraordinary: I had a radical encounter with Jesus Christ while attending an evangelical church in Hollywood for the first time (I was invited by a stranger I met at a coffee shop the week before). I walked into the church a gay atheist and walked out two hours later a born-again Christian, in love with Jesus. I was stunned by this reversal. Since then, I no longer identify as gay but rather choose to be celibate because I believe God’s plan and purpose—revealed in the Bible—is authoritative, true, and good. Surrendering my sexuality hasn’t been easy. I still struggle with vestiges of same-sex attraction, but denying myself, taking up my cross, and following Jesus is an honor. Any struggles I experience pale in comparison to the joy of a personal relationship with the one who created me and gives my life meaning. My identity is no longer in my sexuality; it’s in Jesus. When I came out as a Christian to my friends in L.A. and New York, I was met with skepticism and, in some cases, outright hostility. But it wasn’t until my memoir was published in 2019 that all hell broke loose. My closest, lifelong friends completely abandoned me, and my production-design agency in Hollywood dropped me like a hot potato under the most vague and frivolous of pretexts—even though I was one of their top artists, earning them loads of money over the years. Of course, if my memoir had been a celebration of my gay identity, I would’ve had advertising and editorial clients beating down my door with even more job offers. In stark contrast to Elliot Page, who only gained approval and favor from celebrities and politicians, I lost both dear friends and my livelihood.”

It’s quite the contrast isn’t it? Here you have two people—Elliot Page and Becket Cook—who both believe they’ve found their “authentic self.” Yet one is widely celebrated while the other is immediately blacklisted. It kind of seems like a double standard, doesn’t it? And it kind of is. I think Becket Cook makes an excellent point when he asks in his article in response to Hillary Clinton, “Is it really wonderful to witness people becoming who they are? Or is it only wonderful when the ‘true self’ they discover fits the popular cultural narrative of the day? If Clinton knew my story, would she tweet support for me becoming who I am?”

Now, of course, my purpose this morning isn’t to advocate for any kind of hatred toward those in the trans community. Quite the opposite, in fact. I believe we should love them and pray for them. However, I do believe Becket Cook’s article is an excellent example and yet another reminder of the fact that Christians are outsiders in the world in which we live—and should expect to be treated as such. The Apostle Paul says it well when he writes in Philippians 3:20 that “our citizenship is in heaven.” So the fact that we don’t fit in here shouldn’t surprise us since we don’t really belong here anyway. Our citizenship is in heaven. Also, Jesus himself tells us what to expect in this world in John 15:18-19. He says to his disciples, 18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. So if you want to be a Christian, be prepared to swim upstream for as long as you live on this earth. 

And here in our main passage of Acts 4, we see the early Christians having to do just that as they try to live as faithful followers of Jesus. Now you may remember that back in Acts 1:8, Jesus had given them a mission. He had told them to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in the surrounding regions around Jerusalem, and even to the ends of the earth. Yet here in Acts 4, they begin to encounter significant opposition and, we might even say, persecution for the first time. So as we examine the narrative of Acts 4, we see that being a faithful witness requires supernatural boldness. That’s the main idea that arises out of this passage. Being a faithful witness requires supernatural boldness. 

Now, the immediate context is that Peter and John have just healed a crippled man and then used that miracle as a platform to preach the gospel to the crowds that gathered. The story then picks up in Acts 4:1-4: 1 And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand. 

So Peter and John’s preaching causes no small amount of agitation among the powers that be—including the priests who were in charge of offering the sacrifices, the captain of the temple who was sort of like the police chief of the temple complex, and the Sadducees, who were the wealthy aristocrats to whom the Romans had delegated most of the governing authority in Jerusalem. And if you think about it, it’s not that difficult to figure out why they were so agitated. These leaders were the ones who had led the charge for Jesus to be crucified for blasphemy, and now here Peter and John are making all kinds of outrageous claims about Jesus being raised from the dead. If those claims were true and Jesus really was raised from the dead, then it would be readily apparent that the leaders were the ones who were in error rather than Jesus. Not only that, but the Sadducees didn’t even believe in the resurrection of the dead in the first place. They actually didn’t believe in heaven or hell or angels or demons or anything supernatural. One commentator calls them “the material rationalists of their day.” In contrast to the Pharisees, who opposed Jesus mainly for reasons related to their own misguided religious convictions, the Sadducees opposed Jesus purely for political reasons. The Romans were allowing them to have positions of significant power and influence—along with the wealth that went along with that—and they basically didn’t want anyone to rock the boat, so to speak, and mess all of that up. So that’s the reason for their opposition. 

The story then continues in verses 5-12: 5 On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” 

So notice the boldness here that Peter exhibits. He doesn’t beat around the bush or sugarcoat anything, does he? Instead, he’s very direct in telling the authorities exactly what’s up. I love how he makes such good use of that second person pronoun. He describes Jesus as the one “whom you crucified” and says that he was “the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.” Where do you think Peter got this boldness? Where did this guy who exhibited such lamentable cowardice before Jesus’ crucifixion in denying him three times get the boldness he now exhibits? 

Well, we see the answer right there in verse 8. It says that Peter was “filled with the Holy Spirit.” This is the same phrase that was used of the Christians back in Acts 2:4 when they were proclaiming the works of God to the crowds that had gathered for Pentecost. And it simply refers to Peter being led and empowered by the Spirit for what we see him doing. It was also a fulfillment of what Jesus told his disciples to expect in Luke 12:11-12: 11 And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say. So what we see in Acts 4 is Jesus coming through on his promise. He’s supernaturally empowering Peter to speak with the boldness we see him exhibiting. That’s why I said the main idea is that being a faithful witness requires supernatural boldness—a boldness given by the Holy Spirit that enables us to do something we’d otherwise be unable to do. And perhaps you’ve experienced that before. I know there have been times when I’ve said something to someone and thought to myself afterwards, “Wow, that was really good. In fact, that was too good for it to be something I came up with on my own.” It’s like the Holy Spirit put those words in my mouth. That’s what was happening here in Acts 4. Peter was able to respond the way he responded because and only because he was “filled with the Holy Spirit.” 

And the climax of Peter’s message comes in verse 12, where Peter boldly declares, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Now the neat thing in this verse that isn’t really observable from an English translation is that the Greek word translated “saved” here in verse 12 is actually the same word Peter used back in verse 9 that’s translated “healed” or “made well.”  In verse 9, Peter notes that they’re asking him “by what means this [crippled] man has been healed.”  And in the original language, the same word could refer to either healing or saving. And it’s used by Peter in both ways in verses 9 and 12 respectively. So the crux of Peter’s brief sermon here is a play on words.  He’s saying, “You asked me how this crippled man was saved from his physical infirmity, but I’ll tell you how we can all be saved from our spiritual infirmity.”

And the way that’s possible, of course, is through Jesus and him alone. As Peter clearly states, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” You see, you and I and everyone else in this world has a big problem. We’ve rebelled against a holy and righteous God. And as a result of that rebellion, the Bible says that we’re destined to face God’s eternal judgment. Yet there is good news—extraordinary news, actually. This God of uncompromising holiness is also a God of unfathomable love. And in his love, God sent his own Son Jesus to this earth in order to rescue us. Jesus did that by dying on the cross—taking upon himself the judgment we deserved. His death made atonement for our sin. Then, three days later, as Peter so eloquently says, Jesus resurrected from the dead so that he’s now able to save all who will put their trust in him to do so. And it’s important to understand that that’s actually the only way anyone can ever be saved. “There is salvation in no one else,” Peter says. Jesus isn’t one way to heaven among many; he’s the only way. 

Now, I’m fully aware that that’s not a very popular thing to say in our pluralistic society. The prevailing view of our society is that all religions are equally valid and that anyone who makes the kind of exclusivistic claim Peter makes here in verse 12 is being terribly intolerant. Yet, if you reflect on the issue more deeply, exclusivism is unavoidable. Because think about what modern pluralists are really saying. They’re saying, “My view of world religions and how they relate to each other is right, and every other view is wrong.” In condemning religious exclusivism, they’re being just as exclusivistic themselves. They’re excluding and usually even heaping scorn upon those who view religious matters differently than they do—which happens to be the vast majority of people in this world. Like if you go to the Middle East and suggest that all religions are valid, they’ll say, “What are you talking about? Islam is the only true religion.” If you go to many places in China and suggest that all religions are valid, they’ll say, “What are you talking about? Buddhism is the only true religion.” And it would be the same for almost all other religions. The cultural elites of the West are the only ones I’m familiar with who think all religions are valid. So in reality, as I mentioned, they’re being just as exclusive and just as “narrow” as those they’re opposing by saying that their view of religion is the only right view of religion. That’s why I say that exclusivism is unavoidable.

And as Christians, God’s given us the sacred calling of making these things clear to people and propagating this message of salvation through Jesus alone. And as Acts 4 shows us, doing that requires supernatural boldness. It requires that we renounce that tendency we have to “go with the flow” and try to fit in with the world in which we live. I appreciate the way J. C. Ryle describes this tendency. He writes, “Few seem to have any opinions of their own or to think for themselves. Like dead fish, they go with the stream and tide: what others think is right, they think is right; and what others call wrong, they call wrong too….They dread the idea of going against the current of the times. In a word, the opinion of the day becomes their religion, their creed, their Bible, and their God.” Ryle then asks, “If this is not slavery, what is?” A good question indeed. 

Brothers and sisters, God calls us to love people. And when we allow our concerns about what people might think about us to keep us from sharing with them the only thing that can give them hope for eternity, that’s not a loving thing to do. It’s actually an incredibly selfish thing to do. Loving people involves feeling such a burden for the state of their souls that we’re willing to run the risk of them rejecting us in order to at least make an attempt at leading them to Christ—because “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

We then read in the subsequent verses about how the Jewish leaders respond to Peter and John. Verses 13-17 record their deliberations, which result in what we read in verses 18-22: 18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” 21 And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old. 

I love the way Peter and John respond there: “we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” They were so gripped by the gospel message that they felt an inward compulsion to share it and weren’t able to stop themselves. Kind of like if someone’s really interested in a certain sport, such as football. What do they talk about almost constantly? Football, right? And that’s because we naturally talk about what’s important to us. If something fills our heart, it naturally comes out in our conversations. And it’s no different with the gospel. If the gospel doesn’t have much of a grip on your heart, it’s hard not to view evangelism as a chore or even a burden. But if the gospel does fill your hear the way it should, it’s going to naturally overflow into your conversations. And we see Peter and John testifying to that reality here in Acts 4. 

Yet, unfortunately, the Jewish leaders respond in a way that’s all too predictable. They can’t punish Peter and John since the guy who was healed is standing right there as Exhibit A of God’s miraculous power, but the leaders nevertheless threaten them about what’ll happen if they keep preaching. So how do you think the early Christians respond to that? I mean, this is the first time that’s recorded in Acts of them experiencing outright persecution. So how do you think they respond? How would you respond? Personally, I’d probably ask God for protection and pray that the persecution would stop. Yet that’s not what these Christians did. Instead of praying for protection, they pray for boldness. 

Look at verses 23-31: 23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “ ‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? 26 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’— 27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. 29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. 

So these Christians pray not for an end to the persecution but for the boldness to bear up under it and to keep proclaiming the gospel. And notice here, in their prayer, the mentality that’s behind them praying in this way. They view the persecution they’re facing in light of the supremacy of God. Notice how they address him in verse 24: “Sovereign Lord.” They understand that God is on his throne ruling over this universe and sovereignly orchestrating everything—even persecution—according to his infinite wisdom and perfect will. And the word translated as “Lord” that they use here is actually a rather uncommon title for God. It’s not the word κύριος, which is the typical Greek word translated as Lord but rather an even stronger word, δεσπότης, which appears only five other times in the New Testament. This word δεσπότης is the word from which we get our English word “despot” and speaks of an absolute master—with no limitation whatsoever on his power and authority. Also, these Christians note additionally that God’s not only the ruler of this world but the very one who created it in the first place, describing him as the one “who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them.” So God’s sovereign and supreme over their adversaries. 

And even when their adversaries crucified Jesus, look what verse 28 says: they were simply doing “whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.” Moreover, we can also see God’s supremacy being displayed in the narrative of our main passage itself. Back in verse 4, we read that thousands more people were saved as a result of Peter and John’s preaching. So even though the Jewish leaders fiercely opposed the gospel, they were powerless to stop it from spreading. God is indeed the “Sovereign Lord,” and what a comfort that is whenever we face opposition. No matter what happens, we know that God’s got it all under control and is working through it all to accomplish his sovereign purposes. 

Not only that, but we know that, when all’s said and done, anything that we might lose in this life as a result of being faithful to God’s call pales in comparison to what we’ll gain in the future. And that might actually be the best part of Becket Cook’s article. Becket Cook, you’ll recall, is the guy who was formerly living a homosexual lifestyle but who encountered Jesus and was radically changed. And he writes about what becoming a Christian cost him. In contrast to Elliot Page, who received widespread applause for coming out as transgender, Becket Cook lost both his friends and his livelihood. Yet he writes this later in the article: “To be clear, I’m not complaining or claiming to be a victim. What I gained in Christ is absolutely priceless. Like the apostle Paul, I’m learning to ‘count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish’ [a quote from Philippians 3:8]….Yes, the loss of close friendships and a lucrative career were harsh, but being in the kingdom of God more than compensates! I am royalty, an heir of God and fellow heir with Christ. In contrast to Page, my joy is not ‘fragile’ in that it depends on the affirmation of others. My joy is secure because I am in Christ—and thus favorable in the sight of God, whose approval is ultimately all that matters.”

Friends, it doesn’t matter what we lose in this life as a result of our devotion to Jesus. It’s all temporary anyway. Eternity is all that really matters. As Christians, we know the end of the story. We know that Jesus wins and that we’ll get to enjoy eternal pleasures in his presence that infinitely outweigh anything we might lose on this earth. As one theologian has observed, “What can earth do to you if you are guaranteed heaven? To fear the worst earthly loss would be like a millionaire fearing the loss of a penny—less, a scratch on a penny.” What an encouragement to be bold in our witness for Jesus! What a boldness we can have if we live in light of eternity! You know, it’s been said that “a person has only discovered something worth living for…if they have discovered something worth dying for.” Never is that more true than when it comes to the gospel.