Listening guide

The gospel equips him (Peter) for public political and religious conflict.   

(Picture of Peter and John with the lame man)  

“If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness show to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, then know this,...it is by the name of Jesus Christ” (verses 9-10) 

Is this ________ for others? 

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (verse 12)   

“Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (verse 19-20) 

  • “you be the _____________” 

  • “We can’t help _______________” 

The gospel lets me __________ rulers and ___________myself. 

Write a letter.... 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer ““Who stands fast? Only the man whose final standard is not his reason, his principles, his conscience, his freedom, or his virtue, but who is ready to sacrifice all this when he is called to obedient and responsible action in faith and in exclusive allegiance to God — the responsible man, who tries to make his whole life an answer to the question and call of God.” “He was, without exception, the finest and most lovable man I have ever met.” 

Discussion questions

Getting talking  

  1. What is something you’re grateful for? 

  2. Is there another religion that interests you?  

Digging into Acts 4 and religious pluralism  

Larry Hurtado, a scholar of early Christianity, writes, “Today, even in societies such as the USA with a history of religious pluralism, there are sometimes misguided concerns about religious differences. The anti-Catholic and anti-Jewish stance of the Ku Klux Klan is well known. In the 1960 presidential race there were some who claimed that John Kennedy’s Roman Catholic allegiance raised questions about his loyalty to the US Constitution. More recently, some demagogic voices have questioned whether Muslims can be true Americans. As well, of course, religious change or dissent can make for serious and painful personal tensions, and accusations of betrayal or disloyalty to family or people. For example, a member of a Jewish family who becomes Buddhist or Christian can experience accusations of disloyalty to the family and the Jewish people. Similarly, Greek families might well expect all members to be Greek Orthodox. 

“Nevertheless, in principle, in modern societies we tend to think of ethnicity (for example, being Italian, Argentinian, Nigerian, or Filipino) and religious affiliation (for example, being Christian, Muslim, or Hindu) as two quite distinguishable things. As a reflection of this, in a national census form we’ll typically be asked to indicate our ethnicity or racial derivation in one question and any religious affiliation in another. But we likely have little knowledge of when and where this idea first appeared. 

“Early Christianity, especially in the first three centuries, effectively created the distinction between ethnicity and religion.” 

Today, we’re going to start to see how that happened.  

  1. Peter and John healed a man born lame. They had to stand trial with the Jewish leaders – Annas, Caiphas, John, Alexander. What do you think they might have thought as they faced the very men who sentenced Jesus?  

  2. Peter makes the strong statement in verse 12, “12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved”. What convictions does Peter show with this statement?  

  3. What is particularly troubling to the leaders about the apostles (v.7, 13-14), and what link is there between this distress and their rejection of the gospel message? 

  4. In verses 19 and 20, Peter gives this memorable response. “19 But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20 As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” What is noteworthy about it? Could you imagine yourself saying something like it?  

  5. The secularization thesis basically said that as countries become more advanced, they will become more secular. The 20th century and the 21st century have demonstrated this to be a false thesis, especially in more Pentecostal/charismatic areas. In verses 23-31, we hear the disciples’ expressive prayer. What are the marks of the prayer which brings down such power into the disciples? 

  6. How do we see religious faith begin to transcend social and cultural norms?  

 

 

Sermon

 

Acts 4:1-31

Nathaniel Timmermann

Peace Lutheran Church

Easter 2

April 26, 2020

Sermon number 421

Rise up!

 

“I can do better.” “I could have done better.” I’ve pretty much mastered these phrases. I say them often.

--H family. I was trying to plan an event that included this family. I was not getting a response from them. Finally the day of the event I saw them. I got a different answer than I hoped. I did not remain calm. I had to say, I’m sorry I could have done better.

--Sometimes I have to say it because I don’t say enough. I remember a meeting. I listened to people’s comments, both good and bad. There was a fair bit of criticism as often happens. I felt like I stayed pretty calm. I was still disappointed in how the meeting went. I talked to some mentors and friends afterwards and said, this is what happened. I think I should have spoke up. Do you think that would have been better? I didn’t have the courage at the time. I can do better.

Today we see a guy who has the courage and remains calm in the middle of conflict. It’s Peter. It’s amazing. The religious figures who are judging him, they see his courage (verse 13). I’m blown away by this.

It’s 60 days or so after Jesus is judged and sentenced to death. Peter stands in front of the same people. He doesn’t deny Jesus or run away. He doesn’t blow up at them and yell at them. The gospel equips him for public political and religious conflict.

What happens? Can it do the same for us. That’s today.

Getting started...until

It all started in the temple. Peter and John were there. They were there to live out the powerful new story of Jesus. You can see the hope, the joy that lives in them. Peter looks at this lame man. He says, I can give you your desires. I can give you what you want. Evil doesn’t win. Suffering doesn’t win. In the name of Jesus, stand up. There is this powerful new story at work.  

The people are excited … until the Jewish leaders arrest Peter.

This is the first real political and religious conflict after the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Jesus had a lot of this in his life. His message was I’m lord over your political and religious systems. What is going to happen to the political and religious system with Jesus gone?

Peter is standing trial and he says, “If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness show to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, then know this,...it is by the name of Jesus Christ” (verses 9-10) Peter doesn’t stand up and say, “your political system and your religious system were shown to be false by Jesus. You guys got to shut this thing down and head home.” He doesn’t say that. He doesn’t even say, almost everything you said about God and the world was proven wrong by Jesus so why should we listen to you?” He doesn’t say that either.

He might think that. He goes on to say, “Jesus is the stone you builders rejected”. First, he accepts, their standard for judgment. He says, “if we are called to account for an act of kindness.”

What he is saying is, the best basis for judgment in the public sphere is whether or not something does good to others. Let me see if I can explain this a little bit.

The Jewish nation was one of the first to go to great lengths to make sure people did good to others. Some people will make a comparison between say Hammurabi’s code and the 10 commandments and say, look they’re pretty much the same. They both teach an eye for an eye. But they really aren’t. The Jewish law code went out of its way to protect the foreigners, the widows, the orphans, and the poor. You just take something like the Year of Jubilee.

If you become a slave in the Jewish system and you lost your own land, it was built into the law code that you would become free and get your land back after so many years. Do you know any other legal system that doesn’t make you buy your way out of slavery? They just forgive the whole debt. I don’t.

That culture stretched all the way down to Jesus. Jesus is known for his morality, his excellent ethical teaching. The sermon on the Mt is this incredible example of ethical living.

So Christianity upholds this idea that in the public sphere, the best basis for judgment is is something good for others? Does it do good to other people? Peter upholds that. He says, “are we on trial for an act of kindness”.

When we say, “does it do public good?” someone will immediately say, “yeah, but whose idea of good? Is it what’s good for you? What’s good for me? Temporary good? Permanent good? How much do you have to work when I do good for you? That is, are free handouts good, or is an education for you good?

We have to pause that for a second. The simple fact that we even say that shows we live in a pluralistic society. People have different political convictions. People have different religious beliefs. Peter is saying, the basis of your public judgment of me.... What I can deal with, “is this an act of kindness.”

This is what a Christian has to work with in public. Maybe we get a chance to say why we’re doing something. We’re doing it in the name of Jesus. Good. The judgment is still, does this do good for others?

What he doesn’t do, he doesn’t argue truth claims.

Peter finishes saying, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (verse 12) 

Certainly when Peter says that, he is way out there. People will say to me, you can’t mean that only people in your church or your denomination or your kind of Christianity  are saved, do you? I say, no, people who believe in Jesus are saved from their sins. Really, only Jesus? What about the people who have never heard of him? Or even more, what about the people who have never even had a chance to hear about him?

They’ll say, “It’s okay to believe in Jesus, you just can’t believe he is any better than any of the other religious teachers or that he is the only way to God.”

And I’ve got to say, It’s okay to believe in Jesus, but I can’t believe in the Jesus who said, “I am the way the truth and the life.” I can’t believe in the one who said, “I’m going to prepare a place for you and I will come back to take you to be with me.” I can’t believe in the one who said, “the forgiveness of sins will be preached in my name to the world.”

That’s the only Jesus we have. That’s the only Jesus history knows. If your Jesus is not the one who died on the cross and rose again for the salvation of the world, then you don’t have Jesus.

See, Peter has realized he really isn’t that good. He denied Jesus. Jesus rose from the dead. You might have a lot of medals on the wall. You might have a lot of cards from people saying, “You’re a good person.” Did you rise from the dead? That’s the ultimate proof you are good. He said, “salvation is found in no one else”

At the same time, he has realized “salvation is find in Jesus.” He is loved, forgiven, accepted, and approved. God has forgiven his cowardice. Whether or not anyone else agrees with me, God has put me in his family through Jesus.

That’s why Peter isn’t arguing here. He is deeply convicted that he is both nothing and everything in Jesus.

Let me give you just a fast illustration. I bet some of you have watched Pete the Dragon. One of the opening scenes shows this little boy playing by a river. He has some cloth wrapped around himself, not dressed, just playing by the river. A bear comes out of the woods. And you’re like, “Oh no, the kid!” He doesn’t panic. He turns and growls at the bear. And you’re watching it saying, Oh my there is this crazy 10 year old growling at the bear. The bear turns and runs away. And you’re watching it and say, “What just happened?” The camera pans back and out of the woods steps this huge dragon. And you say, “Oh okay.”

It’s not that Peter is so strong or powerful. He knows he is nothing. He has the greatest dragon in the world on his side.

In the end he says, two things. “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (verse 19-20)

--We respect rulers. We will entrust ourselves to your judgment. “you the be the judges.”

--He can also say, We’re going to express ourselves. “We can’t help speaking.”

You see what the gospel has done to Peter? As long as you have to prove yourself, you can never say to your leaders, “It’s your choice. I’ll let you make the call.” As soon as you believe God loves you and forgives you and approves of you because of Jesus, you can let someone else decide your fate.

The gospel lets me respect rulers and express myself.

I wonder if that would look something like this.

--Write a letter to a public figure – mayor, state representative, federal representative,

--Thank you for your efforts and work to serve the people of Otsego/Plainwell, MI, or the United States during this time. I know it is hard.

--We’re going to do good. Visit the lonely and sick. Bring meds, groceries. Give kids activities and education. Give parents a break. And we’re going to say why we do it. Jesus is risen from the dead. He has adopted us as his sons and daughters.

--And we will accept your judgment. We’ll take the discipline, fines, jail time, whatever.

--Not asking for anything beyond what we normally do.

This is without a doubt the right thing to do. The disciples received amazing proof that they were going in the right direction.

--verse 4 5,000 people have come to faith

--verse 9, 22 they have given a lame man the ability to walk

--verse 13 Peter’s courage is obvious

--verse 24-31 the place where they are gathered is shaken

Here is the biggest one. Peter and John go home after they are released. They tell everyone what happened. They pray to speak God’s Word with great boldness. And God shook the place where they were gathered.

I don’t know if there are any really good modern examples of this, but Dietrich Bonhoeffer from about 80 years ago is pretty good.

During World War II, a Christian pastor named Dietrich Bonhoeffer was arrested and imprisoned. He was arrested because he staunchly rejected and refuted everything the German government was doing. He and many other refused to sign an oath of allegiance to the Nazis. He established a seminary for the churches that protested. He wrote a now famous book, the Cost of Discipleship in which he critiqued the religion of the day and the state church. He was involved in a couple of attempts on Hitler’s life. After his arrest, he was imprisoned for 2 years.

In 1943 right at the end of his life, he wrote an essay “After Ten Years: A Reckoning Made at New Year 1943,” in which he summarized his thinking about Christian duty and reiterated his views on the real source of good works: “Who stands fast? Only the man whose final standard is not his reason, his principles, his conscience, his freedom, or his virtue, but who is ready to sacrifice all this when he is called to obedient and responsible action in faith and in exclusive allegiance to God — the responsible man, who tries to make his whole life an answer to the question and call of God.”

A British prisoner of war who was with Bonhoeffer in the last days before his execution wrote, “He was, without exception, the finest and most lovable man I have ever met.” Bonhoeffer went to his death with great composure, impressing even the concentration camp’s doctor.

That’s the kind of courage and calm the gospel gives. When I deal with politics and religions,  It’s a pleasure and a blessing to have a variety of political and religious views. It’s only the person who can say, “Salvation is found in no one else” who can also say, “I can let someone else decide.”

The gospel lets me respect rulers and express myself.