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The book of Acts, Acts chapter 
4. Acts chapter 4, we have seen 
in chapter 3 that Peter and John heal a lame man on the heels 
of that healing. Peter then preaches in Solomon's 
porch the gospel of Jesus Christ. As a result, their popularity 
and notoriety are going out. The religious leaders get wind 
of this and they arrest Peter and John. They put them in jail 
until they can convene the Sanhedrin, which was the highest court in 
Israel, the religious. and political court that would 
convene to hear such things. Peter makes an initial defense, 
and then we'll see here in verses 13 to 22 the deliberation of 
the council. How do these men deal with Peter 
and John based on their preaching and the healing of this lame 
man? Well, I want to read beginning in verse 1 to remind us of the 
context. Now, as they spoke to the people, 
the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came 
upon them, being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and 
preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid 
hands on them and put them in custody until the next day, for 
it was already evening. However, many of those who heard 
the word believed, and the number of the men came to be about 5,000. 
And it came to pass on the next day that the rulers, elders, 
and scribes, as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, 
and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high 
priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had 
set them in the midst, they asked, by what power or by what name 
have you done this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy 
Spirit, said to them, rulers of the people and elders of Israel, 
if we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless 
man by what means he has been made well, let it be known to 
you all 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 stands here before you whole. 
This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become 
the chief cornerstone. Nor is there salvation in any 
other, for there is no other name under heaven given among 
men by which we must be saved. Now, when they saw the boldness 
of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated and 
untrained men, they marveled, and they realized that they had 
been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been 
healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. 
But when they had commanded them to go aside of the council, they 
conferred among themselves, saying, What shall we do to these men? 
For indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is 
evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But so 
that it spreads no further among the people, excuse me, let us 
severely threaten them that from now on they speak to no man in 
this name. So they called them and commanded 
them not to speak at all, nor teach in the name of Jesus. But 
Peter and John answered and said to them, whether it is right 
in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God you judge. For we cannot but speak the things 
which we have seen and heard. So when they had further threatened 
them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them because 
of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been 
done. For the man was over 40 years 
old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed. Amen. Let us pray. Father, we thank 
you for the written word. And God, we see the contrast 
between the righteous and the unrighteous, the godly and the 
ungodly, the wretch and the righteous. And we pray that we would appreciate 
what you're doing in this passage. that we would appreciate what 
the apostles did in terms of their service for the church. 
And may we learn many things for our own faith in this 21st 
century context. We do pray again that you would 
forgive us for our sins, cleanse us from all unrighteousness, 
and fill us with your Holy Spirit. We stand in absolute dependence 
upon you. We have great need of the Spirit 
to illumine our minds and our hearts. And we would pray that 
you would grant us wisdom, Grant us help, grant us grace and strength. And we ask in the name of the 
Lord Jesus Christ, amen. Well, as I've said, these men 
had preached the gospel. These men had in fact healed 
a lame man. That was ultimately the name 
of Christ. It was the power of Christ that was manifested in 
the healing of this man. But this is what disturbed the 
religious leadership in the first century. Notice in verse one, 
Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the 
temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, being greatly disturbed 
that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection 
from the dead. You would think that the apostles 
were out there advocating, you know, insurrection, or rebellion, 
or an actual destruction, a physical destruction of the temple, or 
that they were printing pornography, or they were engaged in some 
other thing that was absolutely contrary to Judaism. Now they 
were greatly disturbed because of Christ. That's what lay behind 
this entire section. That's what their problem is 
in this deliberation. They have a genuine issue. They're 
on the genuine horns of a dilemma as they're trying to deal with 
these apostles, on the one hand, to silence them, but on the other 
hand, not to punish them severely because they just healed a lame 
man. I mean, they are in a conundrum, 
so let's look at how they deal with it. Notice in verses 13 
to 22, it breaks down into two broad sections. First, the deliberation 
of the council in verses 13 to 17, and then secondly, the attempt 
to silence the apostles in verses 18 to 22. Note first, with reference 
to the deliberation, their knowledge. You know, even a Pharisee, a 
scribe, a Sadducee, a religious leader in the first century can't 
miss certain things. Now, you wouldn't know that from 
the Gospels because they missed a lot in terms of what Jesus 
did and what he taught, but even they can't deny certain things 
concerning these apostolic men. In the first place, they saw 
their boldness. They saw the boldness of the 
apostles. Note verse 13. Now, when they 
saw the boldness of Peter and John, literally their freedom 
of speech, their ability not to toe the party line, their 
ability to speak those things that they know are contrary to 
the prevailing opinions of men. They were true followers of Jesus. They were true servants of the 
Master. The Master was persecuted. The Master was ultimately crucified. The Master was ill-treated, but 
they didn't let that stop them. They will testify boldly for 
the Master, because they follow in His train, as we just sang 
in hymn 489. These men weren't milquetoast. 
These men didn't cry. These men didn't hide. These 
men didn't whine. They stood up in Solomon's porch 
and they said the reason that that formerly lame man is now 
leaping and praising God is because of Christ. That Christ you crucified. That Christ God raised from the 
dead. That Christ that is held in contempt 
by the prevailing opinions of those in the leadership of Israel. So now, again, just think through 
the Sanhedrin there. A 71 member of the most sort 
of powerful men in Israel at the time. And they see Peter 
and John who brought it. Peter and John who brought the 
heat, as some have said good preaching is. They didn't shrink 
back, they were bold. But they also knew that they 
were uneducated men. Now, I don't know that we're 
supposed to interpret this as a real sort of mean thing that 
they had said. Look at what the text says. Now, 
when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived 
that they were uneducated and untrained men. It simply means 
the apostles did not have the same sort of religious training 
that these religious leaders did. They hadn't gone to the 
rabbinic schools. They hadn't gone first for their 
undergrad and then to their postgraduate study. They didn't do that. They 
didn't have PhDs. They were fishermen. They were 
men who understood nets. They were men who understood 
boats. They were men who understood fish. I mean, if you, you know, 
lock them down on their area of expertise, they could tell 
you whatever the Sea of Galilee contained in terms of fish. That 
they knew. But in terms of theology, in 
terms of understanding the Old Testament, in terms of interpreting 
that Old Testament, they were uneducated and untrained men. 
Literally, it's uneducated and untrained. It's probably more 
like they were laymen. The word untrained is literally 
where we get the word idiot. But it didn't mean that at this 
particular time. It meant something like laymen. 
These guys are laymen. They're not one of us. They don't 
have advanced degrees. They haven't gone through the 
approved schools. They don't know who Hillel is or Shemai. 
They don't know what all that stuff is. And nevertheless, they're 
bold men. See, it's a wonderful thing to 
be with Jesus, isn't it? I mean, that's ultimately what's 
at stake here. It's because they had been with 
Jesus. Being with Jesus helps you to overcome your uneducatedness 
and your untrainedness. Time sitting at Jesus' feet is 
far surpassing or far surpasses everything you'll get elsewhere. 
And then notice what else they knew. I'm just going to flesh 
that out. In John 7, 15, the Jews marveled even at Jesus saying, 
how does this man know letters having never studied? See, they 
said the same thing about Jesus. He's a carpenter in Nazareth. He's a carpenter from Galilee. How does he possibly know any 
letters having never studied? And then later in John's gospel 
in 7, 49, the religious leaders basically write off everybody 
in Israel because they don't know the law. They didn't mean 
they didn't know the Ten Commandments. They didn't mean they couldn't 
recite to you that you shouldn't commit adultery. They didn't 
know it because they hadn't studied it like this group. And that's 
kind of the thrust here. They perceive the boldness, or 
rather, they see the boldness of Peter and John, and then they 
think to themselves, they're uneducated and untrained. They're 
hillbillies. They probably said this with 
a bit of a smile. They're just from Galilee. I mean, that's how they wrote 
Jesus off, isn't it? He's from Galilee. Galilee was 
eastern Kentucky to Jerusalem, which would have been New York 
City. You wander into New York City from eastern Kentucky, and 
they don't typically marvel at you because you're the paradigm 
of wisdom and knowledge and training and learning. It's kind of similar 
to even a Chilliwackian in a Vancouver. In Chilliwack, you must dairy 
farm. Everybody in Chilliwack's a dairy 
farmer. The people who live in Vancouver, they just have this 
view. I mean, if that many people dairy farm, how could we possibly 
live? There'd be so many cows in Chilliwack, we couldn't move. 
You see, there's this kind of parochialism about it. And there's 
this kind of pride about it. And there's this kind of arrogance 
about it that, you know, these men have a boldness, but they're 
untrained. They're uneducated. They're just 
fishermen. They're rabble. They're out of 
their league. They're out of their element. 
They're in a position or place where they're just not to be. And then notice, they had known 
or rather they knew that they had been with Jesus. We'll sort 
of pull some more out of that later in terms of application. 
That's what the text says. They perceive that they were 
uneducated and untrained men and they marvel. They marvel 
because uneducated and untrained men were beating them. Make no 
mistake about this. These uneducated and untrained 
men were besting the Sanhedrin. Probably had been a long time 
since they had seen that kind of fervor with reference to preaching. Imagine going to one of these 
lectures that these guys put on. It would bore you to tears 
because they didn't understand the very Old Testament that they 
said they lived by or they adhere to. Now Peter gets up and says, 
the Old Testament is fulfilled in Jesus. The Old Testament finds 
its yea and amen in Jesus. Everything the prophets and the 
law spoke of finds its realization in Jesus. That's thrilling. That's 
encouraging. That's building one up. And so 
now these uneducated and untrained men marvel or provide an opportunity 
for these guys to marvel because they're actually beating them. 
They're taking away from their power structure and their authority. 
And then it goes on to say, and they realized that they had been 
with Jesus. Now, how does that make sense in the context? Remember, 
we're not dealing with a span, you know, Jesus died, and he 
rose, and he ascended on high, and then 20 years later, we have 
the book of Acts. That's just not the timeline. 
It's months. Remember, these same religious 
leaders were the same guys in the Sanhedrin that tried our 
Lord Jesus Christ. We see it there in verse five, 
the references to Caiaphas and to Annas. Those are the same 
priests that are referenced in the gospel narratives concerning 
our Lord Jesus. What did they learn in the life 
and the ministry of the Lord Jesus? They learned that he was 
brilliant. They learned that he was wise. 
They learned that he was skilled. I've already quoted John 7. How 
does he know this, having never studied letters? How can he possibly 
prosecute the truth of the Old Testament in this way, having 
never gone to the rabbinic schools? How did he learn this, fashioning 
tables and chairs and whatever else he did in his father's carpentry 
shop? How does he know this stuff? 
But know what he did, and they understood that. They could not 
speak against Jesus in terms of biblical interpretation. They 
didn't agree with Him. They didn't like it. They didn't 
receive it and embrace it. But they certainly could not 
dispute with Him in terms of the finer details of the interpretation 
of the Old Testament. So the Sanhedrin presently sees 
the same thing. They had been with Jesus. The 
way that Jesus was wise, the way that Jesus was knowledgeable, 
the way that Jesus did what He did, in terms of his teaching, 
Jesus obviously passed this on to his apostles. Exactly. That's what he did. That's why 
the three years are one of the reasons for the three years. 
They didn't go to seminary. They didn't go to, you know, 
abroad. They hung out with Jesus. It 
was the best seminary training ever. They were with Jesus. If anything, 
it ought to teach us, with reference to seminary or teaching ministerial 
candidates, that they're with Jesus first and foremost. They're 
men of prayer. They're men of the Bible. They're 
men of good theology. Not simply so they can teach, 
but they follow in the heels of Ezra. Ezra the scribe, according 
to Ezra 710. He set his heart to study the 
law of God, to do it, and then to teach the statutes in Israel. 
There's a conspicuous pattern there. There is a conspicuous 
pattern there. He studies the law to do it and 
then to teach. You see, they had been with Jesus. 
They had the savor, the aroma of those who had been with Jesus. Now note the problem and the 
solution for the Sanhedrin in verses 15 to 17. Verse 14 tells 
us what their problem was. And seeing the man who had been 
healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. 
That's their problem. And I think the text is beautifully, 
beautifully conspicuous here. He's standing. He didn't used 
to do that, did he? He used to lay by the gate called 
Beautiful, and he used to hold out his palm, and he used to 
beg for alms. And now, in verse 14, he is with 
Peter and John. Either he had been arrested along 
with them, or he is a witness. He's certainly not a witness 
for the prosecution because he's standing. And they know this 
is a problem. They cannot deny it. All throughout 
this passage, one wonders that if this had not been as publicized, 
that they would have denied it. I think they would have. So the 
problem is very simple. The whole key to interpretation 
in this passage is found in verse 21. Notice, because of the people. because of the people. If it 
hadn't been so widely disseminated, they'd have no problem. They 
could deny the authority of the apostles. They could deny the 
doctrine of the apostles. They could deny the teaching 
of the apostles, except for this pesky fact, that man who was 
over 40 years old, who had been lame, who had been maimed, who 
had been making his life, begging for alms at the beautiful gate. 
He's standing right here. You see their problem, kids? 
They wanna deny the apostles. But in order to deny the apostles, 
they'd have to turn back time and get rid of this healed man. 
They'd probably prefer that he never got healed. I mean, isn't 
this just pathetic? It's kind of symptomatic of what 
happens today. Facts are pesky, pesky things, 
aren't they? You know, Peter even says that 
if we're on trial today for a good deed done to a lame man, This 
is where we've fallen? This is the place to which we've 
degenerated? We have to defend ourselves because 
a man that was formerly lame can now leap and praise and worship 
God? This is how far we've fallen 
in first century Israel? But that's their problem. The 
problem confronting the Sanhedrin was standing right before their 
eyes. He had been healed. As well, the problem was such 
that they could not deny the validity of the healing. That's 
their problem. Into verse 14, they could say 
nothing about it. Jesus said in Luke 21, 15, after 
talking about giving the Spirit to the apostles so that they'd 
be able to make a defense for themselves, He says, For I will 
give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not 
be able to contradict or resist. You can't change thoughts. This man who was lame, this man 
who only begged, this man who only laid on his mat is now standing 
before the Sanhedrin. So what do they do? Well, Peter 
and John, we want a sidebar. You have to step out. We got 
to orchestrate this. We got to manipulate this. We 
have to engage in damage control. And we don't want you in earshot, 
so close the door on your way out. So much for a man getting 
to meet his accuser face to face. But this is precisely what happens. 
Notice verse 15, when they had commanded them to go aside out 
of the council, they conferred among themselves saying, the 
question concerns, what shall we do to these men? A medal? A certificate of appreciation? 
A free lunch? A good-for-you? But remember, 
what's their crime up to this point? They've healed the lame 
man. Oh yeah, they preach some things. We're gonna see that's their 
issue. It's not the healing of the lame man. It's the doctrine. It's the preaching in this name. That's what's subversive to the 
Sanhedrin. But up to this point, what shall 
we do to these men? Nobody of those 71 said, we ought 
to congratulate them. We've never seen something like 
that. That's great. This guy who was formerly begging 
and eking out a subsistence lifestyle, a man who couldn't walk, I saw 
him leaping and praising and worshiping God. We should praise 
God for this. How come that doesn't arise? 
Why is that not an option? Why is following the lead of 
the people who glorified God over this something that wasn't 
even open to them? Again, it's their power, it's 
their position, it's their prestige, it's their place that's being 
threatened, and they don't like it. I've said on several occasions 
in our studies and acts, Luke is giving us a decisive shift 
of leadership, or a decisive shift in terms of leadership. 
It's not the temple, and it's certainly not the Sanhedrin, 
it's Christ and his apostles. Now notice, we see the nagging 
problem they have. Verse 16, what shall we do to 
these men? For indeed, that a notable miracle 
has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, 
and we cannot deny it. I do think the implication is, 
if it wasn't that well known, we would deny it. Never happened. No proof, no witnesses, no corroboration, 
no evidence. It never happened. But they couldn't 
get rid of all Jerusalem. They couldn't ask everybody to 
go away while they dealt with the apostles. They have a nagging 
problem. Daniel Bach says Peter and John 
claimed that the cure had been affected by the power of Jesus' 
name. The judges or their judges were 
in no position to deny the claim. We see the problem is exacerbated 
by that reality that everybody in Jerusalem knew it. Remember, 
chapter 3, verse 1, it's not just telling us, oh, it just 
happened to be this gate, happened to be called beautiful. It's 
setting the scene for us that this man had been there as furniture. The last statement in our particular 
narrative, that he was over 40. It's both the reason why the 
people were praising and glorifying God for this miracle of healing, 
but it also underscores their nagging problem. It wasn't like 
some guy that just showed up. I mean, you probably all drive 
around Chilliwack from time to time, and you see the same sort 
of people that perhaps are on certain corners, and other times 
you see people that you've never seen before. I see it here. We 
get people that are pretty regular visiting the back of our church 
building, and other times I haven't seen them before. You know, there's 
a difference between somebody that's been sort of rooted into 
a community for 40 years and somebody that's only been there 
for 40 minutes. The Sanhedrin has big problems. I want you 
to feel that with me. I want you to get that. I want 
you to understand that. Because it does result in what 
Calvin says. He says, here we may see an evil 
conscience for being destitute of right and reason, they break 
out into open tyranny. See, you know, we talk about 
religious freedom and we talk about freedom of speech. These 
guys certainly didn't have it. In fact, that's one of my things 
along the way is we need to be reminded on what a blessing the 
freedom of speech and religion are. We take that for granted. You can't take a Bible into Saudi 
Arabia. At least you couldn't in the 
80s if you TDY'd there from England on the list of forbidden items 
when you went on a TDY to Saudi Arabia, it was a Bible. No alcohol, 
no pornography, no drugs, no Bible. See, we have freedom of 
religion and freedom of speech. Now, I'm not suggesting they're 
not trying to encroach upon it. I get that. I understand that. 
And it's horrible, which is why 1 Timothy 2.2 matters. Do you 
pray for kings and all who are in authority so that we, the 
people of God, can live peaceable and quiet lives in all godliness 
and reverence? Oh, you know, the government, 
the politicians, we don't want anything to do with them. We're 
Anabaptists. No, we're not Anabaptists, brethren. We're Reformed brethren, 
and we pray for the governing authorities because Paul tells 
us to do so. We have the example in the prophet 
Jeremiah. Jeremiah is told to write a letter 
to the exiles. What are they supposed to do? 
They're supposed to pray for the city that they are captive 
in. Not for its being overthrown, 
but so that they won't be molested, so that they won't be affected, 
so that they won't be ruined, so that they may be able to worship 
God even in that place that is not conducive to the worship 
of God. You see, what we have in this example or in this passage 
is an example of tyranny. Now, the desire to stop the spread 
of the gospel. Notice in verse 17. So they understand 
their problem. Verse 17 says, but so that it 
spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten 
them that from now on they may speak to no man in this name. So this is obviously the desire 
to stop the spread of the gospel. It's not the report of the miracle 
necessarily. When they threaten him later 
and say, you can't go out and tell anybody this, he's not talking 
about the healing of the lame man at that point. It's talking 
about preaching Jesus Christ as Messiah. Now, again, in case 
you've missed the dilemma facing this people, facing this Sanhedrin, 
the people all saw this happen. So if they punish Peter and John, 
how's that going to affect the people? It'd be kind of like 
if you went to a one-year-old's birthday party and protested. 
What did the one-year-old do? I say this thinking this may 
actually happen in the present political climate, but it's completely 
outlandish. Protesting a one-year-old's party. 
Wow, good for you. Persecuting two men that were 
the agents of the healing of another man? What kind of ghouls 
do that? See, that's what's driving the 
Sanhedrin. They have a particular political 
problem at their hands. On the one hand, if they persecute 
Peter and John, everybody's going to say, are you guys monsters? But on the other hand, if they 
don't stop Peter and John, the gospel of this name continues 
to go forth. That's why I say they're on the 
real horns of a dilemma. That means you've got two options 
and both are equally bad. Now let's see how they deal with 
it. We know what we'll do. We'll threaten them. And it's 
literally, we'll threaten with threatenings, with reference 
to them. And the threat did not concern 
reporting the miracle of healing, but rather the preaching of the 
name that was behind the healing. Bach again says, the warning 
is designed to intimidate the apostles with the leadership's 
priestly authority over Judaism. It's a power move. We'll threaten 
them with threatenings and we'll tell them, you need to be quiet. 
You need to be silent. You cannot exercise your freedom 
of speech, which as I understand it, the Jews themselves enjoyed 
a great deal of under the Roman government. The Romans weren't 
down with Judaism. The Romans weren't worshippers 
alongside of the Jews. No, they didn't do 
that, but they tolerated the religion. They tolerated the 
people. They tolerated this particular 
movement and gave them a modicum of respect in terms of freedom 
of religion and freedom of speech. Now, let's look, secondly, at 
the attempt to silence the apostles, verses 18 to 22. So they called 
them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the 
name of Jesus. I think if we lived in the former 
Soviet Union, or we lived presently in a Muslim country, or a nation 
steeped in Islam, or we lived anywhere else, we'd probably 
be able to resonate with this a lot more than we do. Do you 
hear what's at stake here? They're commanding that. You're 
being forbidden from preaching in this name. Again, the healing 
of the lame man is a problem, but it's a symptomatic problem 
of a larger issue. The larger issue is these men 
hated Christ like they hated him in his earthly ministry. 
They now hate the apostles of Christ like they hated Christ 
in his earthly ministry. Their desire is to stop the spread 
of the gospel. Their desire is to stop the salvation 
of men. It's a grave, grave situation. 
Now, let's see how the apostles respond. Verse 19, Peter and 
John answered and said to them, whether it is right in the sight 
of God to listen to you more than to God you judge. For we 
cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. Socrates 
is reported to have said essentially the same thing when he was brought 
up on charges in his time. He essentially said, you guys 
judge. He's not saying, you know, judge 
in the sense that, you know, let me know if it's right or 
wrong. Discern it for yourselves. Examine the situation for yourselves. Look at it from this vantage 
point. You're asking us, Peter and John, 
to choose either God or men. And know what Peter and John 
are doing. They are putting God and men 
at the opposite ends. This religious leadership, this 
Sanhedrin, saw themselves as the great ones in Israel. Peter 
now, in many ways, says something extremely subversive. He puts 
God on one side and them on the other. If it's right to listen 
to you more than to God, you judge. What's he saying? You 
and God aren't saying the same thing. You may think you're the 
voice of God. You may think you have royal 
authority. You may think you have this priestly authority, 
but you don't. you have positioned yourself 
contrary to God Almighty. Bach again says, the leaders 
are to judge, that is, understand, that the apostles must follow 
God rather than a human ruling. I love it. For we cannot but 
speak the things which we have seen and heard. Praise God Almighty 
for the courage of Peter and John. Praise God Almighty for 
the fact that He filled them with the Holy Spirit. Praise 
God that when they are looking at the threats of this religious 
council that actually has a great deal of authority and power to 
make life miserable for them, they don't kowtow. They don't 
roll over. They don't say, well, you win. 
They say, no, you judge for yourselves if it's right for a man to position 
himself opposite to God. This is their, you know, Luther. 
Here I stand. I can do no other. Unless my 
conscience is captivated by the Word of God, I can't change. I have to do what God says. Again, 
brethren, I praise God that those kinds of men are in our history. 
I praise God for Athanasius, praise God for Luther, praise 
God for Calvin, praise God for Spurgeon, praise God for Peter 
and John, that they were bold and they were courageous and 
they didn't roll over. All over the world today, we 
have people rolling over. Well, the government says we 
have to do this and we have to do that. Again, I don't think 
the passage teaches us always reject and rebel against government. 
In fact, Gill, I think, hits the nail on the head. He says, 
it is not denied that magistrates are to be hearkened to and obeyed, 
but not more than God or in things that are contrary to his nature, 
will, law, honor, and glory. You see, it's not teaching us 
that at every step, Christians must disobey the civil government 
or the ecclesiastical government. No, do what they say insofar 
as they don't contradict God. But the moment they contradict 
God, what do you do? Say, well, you know, the government 
says I can't say that homosexuality is a sin. I'm not going to say 
it. What? I can't say that Jesus is the 
only way of salvation, so I'm not going to say it. Of course 
we say it. If we ever stop saying it, we 
have betrayed our trust, and we no longer deserve to be a 
church. If ever there was a time where we ought to see the withdrawal 
of lampstands, it's when men compromise the very truth of 
God's holy word. It's happening everywhere, isn't 
it? It's happening all over. See it. I mean, turn on the internet. Google. Oh, this person, this 
person, this group, this formerly consistent conservative evangelical 
denomination is now denying this, is now denying that. Why are 
they doing this? Because Uncle Sam says they have 
to? Because Justin Trudeau says they must? We must obey God rather 
than men. Again, insofar as men tell us 
things that are consistent with God's law, do it. Don't be that 
wingnut either that goes and peels off and, you know, no civil 
government. No! God ordains civil government. Jesus speaking his wisdom in 
Proverbs 8, 15 says, by me kings reign. Romans 13, there is no 
authority except from God and those which exist are established 
by God. I mentioned this in Proverbs 
recently. While some of us may romanticize about anarchy, it's 
not the biblical way. God created civil government. And insofar as they do not tell 
you to sin against God, do what they say. But when they tell you to stop 
doing what God says, that's when you... Peter and John. We must obey God rather than 
man. They'll say this again in Acts 5.29. That's the paradigm. That's the operating instruction. 
That's how we are supposed to go. They reject the Sanhedrin. They profess their allegiance 
to Christ. And as Gil says, this shows their 
great fidelity and integrity, their inviolable attachment to 
Christ, and their fearlessness of the displeasure and wrath 
of men. Now I doubt, well, I shouldn't 
say that because they've already met Jesus, but this probably 
wasn't what they were inclined to hear from people they tried. 
It probably wasn't the case that when the Sanhedrin actually got 
involved in something, they had persons tell them things like 
this. They're probably reeling from the, whoa, whoa, whoa, what 
do you mean you're not going to do what we say? What do you mean you're 
going to challenge our authority? What do you mean you're going 
to do what we tell you not to do? Again, that dilemma hasn't 
gone away. If we punish them, it's like 
the kind of person that kicks a kitten. We don't want to be 
perceived as the kind of person that kicks a kitten. And as bad 
of a monster as people are, they typically don't kick kittens. 
People that kick, kick kittens. There's just something bizarre 
about that. Or puppies. Who would kick a puppy? These 
guys, if they could. But they can't. And they know 
that. If we punish Peter and John, we will be perceived as 
puppy kickers among all Israel. And we can't allow that, because 
we're in this with reference to control, power, authority. But on the other hand, we can't 
let them go. We can't let them keep preaching in this name. 
You see, I love it. It's a delicious problem that 
these guys have. They're just pressed. They're 
vexed. These two untrained and uneducated 
men, these hillbillies from Galilee, these fishermen have put us in 
this position. Exactly. Isn't God grand? Isn't He wonderful? Isn't He 
glorious? He doesn't raise up an army of 
PhDs to march onto the Sanhedrin and say, all right, we'll have 
a writing competition. No. Two hillbillies stand up 
and say, we're here because of the name of Jesus. And it just 
rocks them. They don't know what to do. We 
can't punish them. We can't beat them. We can't 
put them in prison. I know what we'll do. We'll threaten 
them some more. What's the endgame here? They've 
got to do something to try and silence Peter and John. But also, 
this might be precedent. If they threaten them again and 
again and again, if they find themselves in this position again 
and again and again, they can now turn up the screws and hold 
them in contempt of court. See, these guys are playing the 
long game insofar as they're able to try and silence and quash 
the gospel of Jesus Christ, our Lord. So that's what the problem 
was. That's what their solution was. And praise God that the apostles 
did not roll over, but rather they took seriously the mandate 
that Christ had given to them. I want to close with just a couple 
of things. First, the benefits of being 
with Jesus. The benefits of being with Jesus. 
Now, when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived 
that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled 
and they realized that they had been with Jesus. I would suggest, 
at least from this passage, there are three things we ought to 
appreciate as benefits of being with Jesus. First, the wisdom 
granted to understand the Word of God. the wisdom granted to 
understand the word of God. Remember, Peter's not just standing 
up there saying, you know, I had a vision, I had a dream, I had 
this idea. No, he's interpreting the Old 
Testament and showing how it finds its fulfillment in this 
recent Jesus of Nazareth, whom you crucified and whom God raised 
from the dead. Brethren, being with Jesus produces 
the wisdom of being able to understand God's word. So what ought we 
to conclude? If somebody's not really bright 
when it comes to the scriptures, it's not because they didn't 
go to Bible college. It's not because they didn't go to seminary. 
It's because they don't spend time with Jesus. See, Jesus is 
that kind of person that when you spend time with him, he sort 
of rubs off on you. You all have that. Sometimes, 
kids, you have friends like that or siblings like that. You might 
not necessarily be the kind of person that throws rocks at windows, 
and you happen to be around somebody. It's just kind of like, I don't 
know what happened. I just got caught up in the moment 
because of that. It's always because of you. Let's 
not be that kind of person that shifts blame on everybody else. 
But people affect us, don't they? This is why Proverbs tells us 
in so many instances to watch the company we keep. People affect 
us. Who we spend time with gets into 
our DNA, whether we like it or not, for good or ill. See, when 
you're with Jesus, a wonderful thing happens. You start to understand 
Jesus' word. I always like to caution new 
believers or people that aren't that far advanced in terms of 
their theological understanding. It takes time. The first time 
you studied 2 plus 2 equals 4, you didn't know quantum physics. 
There's a process. You don't yell at a baby that 
just learns how to crawl and say, you should be running by 
it. No. You know that there's a process. 
Christians get down on them, so I should know more. Well, 
maybe you should, but at the same time, spend time with Jesus, 
read scripture, and you'll see that being with him produces 
this good fruit. Psalm 19, 7, the law of Yahweh 
is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of Yahweh is sure. 
I love this next phrase, making wise the simple. Isn't that what 
happens here before the Sanhedrin with reference to Peter and John? 
Psalm 119, 99, and 100. I have more understanding than 
all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. I understand 
more than the ancients because I keep your precept. I understand 
more than the ancients. Why? Because of this commitment 
to the Word of God. You see, this is a benefit of 
being with Jesus. Secondly, the boldness granted to preach the 
Word. Why do you think they were bold this way? Is it native? 
Is it inherent? No, because later on in their 
prayer, what are they praying to God specifically for? Grant 
boldness to us. Paul asks this in the book of 
Ephesians, pray that utterance will be given to me so that I'll 
speak the gospel as I ought to speak with all boldness. See, 
Paul and Peter and John and those guys, they didn't, you know, 
weren't fall out of the boldness tree. They weren't men that, 
you know, were eight foot tall and bulletproof. They weren't 
the kind of guys that, they were fishermen. They were, you know, 
men that were of a more simple caste. They were men that hadn't 
been trained in the great schools. So in order for them to speak 
the truth boldly, they need to be with Jesus. See, maybe that's 
why we're wimps, why we won't pray at Tim Hortons, why we won't 
talk to anybody about the gospel, why we won't take a stand in 
our generation is because we don't spend any time with Jesus. 
See, remember that Noah was a preacher of righteousness in his time. 
We've seen this over the last few Wednesday nights. You ever 
think about what Noah had to do? In that 100-year span, he 
had to collect the wood, bring the wood to wherever he was making 
the ark, not actually make the ark, All the while, he's preaching 
righteousness. I mean, talk about a tough job, 
right? Talk about a difficult calling, 
but he did it. These men, fishermen, they weren't 
those who faced the Sanhedrin. I doubt at any dinner table when 
they were youths, their parents said, okay, now when you stand 
before the Sanhedrin, you're gonna need a special dose of 
boldness, so you work on that out in the shed. They didn't 
have that. They knew Christ supplied that boldness for them. So when 
they go to prayer, they don't stop asking God for more boldness 
so they can face similar situations in like manner. Being with Jesus 
produces boldness and being with Jesus produces a commitment, 
the commitment and fidelity to persist in preaching the word, 
even at the expense of personal safety and comfort. You see, 
that's what it will ultimately cost them. Personal safety and 
comfort. We all like personal safety and 
comfort, I think. I'm not against personal safety 
and comfort. I like my personal safety and comfort. We all do. 
It's in us. We bear God's image. God's not 
about us going out to sacrifice needlessly our personal safety 
and comfort. We are told to love one another 
as we love ourselves. What does that mean? We don't 
typically poke ourselves in the eye with forks. We don't typically 
ingest things that are going to kill us. We don't walk under 
pianos hanging by a bungee. We just don't do that. Personal 
safety and comfort are something that are sort of built into us. 
Something also built into us when we spend time with Jesus 
is the willingness to forego personal safety and comfort in 
order to stand fast on the word. We need that. We need to be committed. We need to be faithful to preaching 
the truth as it is in Jesus. How do we do that? Spend time 
with Jesus. Now, secondly, the liabilities 
of opposing Jesus. If on the one hand, we have in 
the apostles the benefit of being with Jesus, on the other hand, 
with the Sanhedrin, we have the liabilities associated with opposing 
Jesus. First, an attempt to stop the 
spread of the word of God. Again, this is an unenviable 
position for anybody to want to be in, right? This is akin 
to kicking puppies. We want to stop the spread of 
the Word of God. Really? That's how you want to 
proceed? You can't just admit you were wrong. You can't just 
say for a moment, wow, we miss Jesus in the scriptures. We repent. 
We want to believe. No, no, no, that can't be. You 
apostles are wrong. So we're going to stop the spread 
of the word of God. Again, they don't look at it that way. They 
don't think they're actually stopping the word of God, but 
that's exactly what they're doing. Another liability of opposing 
Jesus is the threatening of the true servants of God. The threatening 
of the true servants of God. Right? Isn't that what they're 
doing? They threaten with threatenings. They wag their fingers right 
at them and say, no more preaching in this name. Whatever you do 
when you leave this place, no more preaching in this name. 
What's the implication? If you preach in this name, bad 
things are going to happen. See, that's kind of the focus 
of power, right? The idea behind government power 
and, unfortunately, an ecclesiastical power at times, at least in this 
particular amalgamation, is coercion. The state doesn't, you know, 
ask you to pay your taxes. I mean, they do. But you know, 
if you don't, you're going to go to jail, right? Coercive power 
is behind this. When they're wagging their finger, 
telling you that you can't preach in this name anymore, what ought 
they to conclude? If we do, they're going to step 
it up in terms of punishment. So they're in this position now, 
again, kicking puppies. We're going to threaten the true 
servants of God. Reminds one of John 16, 2 and 
3. I think a political figure in 
America once cited this. I think he was thinking he was 
citing John 3, 16, but he actually cited John 16. He didn't cite 
the verse, he cited the reference. And he wanted to come across 
with John 3.16, God so loved the world that he gave his only 
begotten son, but he actually cited 16.3, which says, and these 
things, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think 
that he offers God's service, and these things they will do 
to you because they have not known the Father nor me. Quite 
the mistake, isn't it? You want to be looked at as the 
great Bible belt sort of guy, quote John 3, 16, and you're 
actually quoting a text that highlights the depravity of man 
in wanting to exterminate the true servants of Jesus Christ. 
And then as well, the actual placement of oneself in opposition 
to God. So here's the chief liability 
of opposing Jesus. You put yourself contrary to 
God. See, one God, Father, Son, Holy 
Spirit. To oppose Jesus is to oppose 
God. To oppose Jesus is to oppose 
the Father. To oppose Jesus is to oppose 
the Holy Spirit. To oppose Jesus is to set oneself 
in the devil's camp. And that's precisely what these 
men are doing. I would suggest another liability of opposing 
Jesus is the curse of living by political expediency. Now, think with me for a moment. 
Why do they do what they do? Because of the people. The people 
saw what had happened, and the people glorified God over what 
had happened, because this man who had been healed had been 
40 years in this condition. In other words, the enormity 
of the miracle spurred the people to glorify God in a consistent 
manner. And yet the Sanhedrin, when they're 
trying to figure out what to do with Peter and John, they're 
afraid of the people. See, brethren, I have this zany 
idea that if we're actually committed to God Most High, and we actually 
believe the implication in Romans chapter 8, we'll do what God 
says, because God says it, and it's right. If God is for us, 
who can be against us? Right? Isn't that scripture? 
Isn't that what the Bible teaches us? If God is for us, who can 
be against us? Remember Mary, Queen of Scots, 
says, I fear the prayers of John Knox than an army of 10,000 soldiers. Praise God for John Knox. Praise 
God that he instilled that kind of fear in that godless woman, 
that she would rather meet an army of 10,000 soldiers than 
that man at prayer. Where's that kind of prayer? 
Where's that kind of commitment? Where's that kind of perseverance 
with reference to the Word of God? Where are the kind of men 
that say, here I stand, I can do no other? Where are the kind 
of men with Peter and John that say, you judge whether it's right 
or wrong for us to obey you more than God. But for us, we can't 
stop preaching and teaching the things that we have seen and 
heard. Necessity is laid upon me, Paul says, for woe to me 
if I do not preach the gospel. How about Paul in Romans 1? I'm 
not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation 
for everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the 
Greek. Brethren, in your prayer closets, do you pray for those 
kinds of men? I think we pray for the things 
that we find important. We pray for this, we pray for 
that, we pray for this, we pray for that. Do you pray that God 
would raise up men that have the kind of blood and grit and 
determination that the Bible sets forth as the true heroes? And do we pray that God would 
send them forth? What do you think the answer 
in our generation is to the problems of society? If you say more government, 
I have a bridge to sell you. I also have some wonderful swampland 
to sell you. That's not gonna bring the healing, 
the health, and the prosperity, dare I say it, that men need. It's the gospel of Jesus Christ. God raised men up to send them 
forth so that they'll preach to every tribe, tongue, people, 
and nation. If ever there's a text we need 
to get in our minds and hearts, it's Acts chapter 4, 19 and 20. You judge whether it's right 
or not for us to listen to you more than to God. But for us, 
we can't neglect this. We can't stop doing this. We're 
not going to refrain from declaring the glory of Jesus Christ. And 
then I would suggest fifthly, by way of a liability of opposing 
Jesus, is the tendency to abuse power and engage in overreach. 
I think that comes from the text, brethren. This is a tyranny. 
When a group of men tell two men that they can't speak or 
they can't teach in this name, what do you call that? It's overreach. It is an abuse of power. It is 
something that men who reject Jesus Christ oftentimes will 
gravitate to. See, there's always gotta be 
a power. There's always gotta be a sovereign. It's either God, 
the true sovereign, or it's man who sets themself up in competition 
with God and then try to control others. And then the third observation 
I wanna make before we close is that what Peter just cited 
to them is taking place. Remember in verse 11, Peter uses 
Psalm 118.22 as the theological rationale for what is happening 
before our eyes. They are not stopping. They are 
being consistent. They are going to continue to 
reject the chief cornerstone. Jesus used Psalm 118, 22 in his 
ministry. Jesus showed how they were the 
builders of the house that had actually become the opposers 
of the chief cornerstone, the rejecters of the chief cornerstone. 
Peter interprets what's happening here before the Sanhedrin in 
like manner. And now, given the opportunity 
to demonstrate whether or not Psalm 118.22 is being realized 
and fulfilled in their midst, these men dig in their heels, 
and they show themselves as despisers of the chief cornerstone, rejecters 
of the chief cornerstone, and rejecters of his apostles. They 
are men who have placed themselves in opposition to the living and 
the true God. We as God's people need to come 
to this passage and say, thank you, Lord, for giving it to the 
apostles to rightly understand the Old Testament, to rightly 
interpret it for us, and to give us the body of New Testament 
teaching that we can synthesize with the Old and produce that 
one document that testifies from A to Z that Christ Jesus is King. Christ Jesus is Lord. Christ 
Jesus is Savior. And if you are not one who is 
in the custom of being with Jesus, may I say to you, today is the 
day of salvation. Stop opposing. Stop resisting. Stop despising this chief cornerstone 
and come to him. We saw that on Wednesday night. 
There's a parallel between Genesis 7 and Matthew 11. What does God 
say when he tells Noah to come to the ark? He says, come to 
the ark. What does Jesus say in Matthew 
11? Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden. Jesus 
Christ is an ark for all of God's Noahs. The way to Christ is by 
faith. Do not despise, do not reject, 
do not disdain him, but rather believe the gospel. Well, let 
us close in a word of prayer. Father, we thank you for your 
word. We thank you for the boldness, the courage, the wisdom that 
you granted to Peter and John. I pray that you would help us 
to possess these things as well, help us to see the shortcomings 
in our lives, and to pray that you would supply what is lacking. 
As well, Father, we pray that you'd raise up a whole host of 
men that are committed to the scriptures, men that want to 
preach and teach the gospel. God, we pray that you'd send 
them forth, because the harvest is plentiful, but laborers are 
few, and we would pray that you would supply what is lacking. 
We ask that you would go with us, help us to glorify you today. 
Bless our service with the brethren tonight, and we pray through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, you can take your 
hymn book and turn to the doxology, and we'll stand and close our 
service