Acts · chapter 4 of 28
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Acts 4 tells how Peter and John are arrested for preaching Jesus and brought before the council, where Peter declares that there is salvation in no one else. The authorities forbid them to speak in Jesus's name, but they answer that they cannot stop speaking about what they have seen and heard. The church prays for boldness, the place is shaken, and the believers live with one heart, sharing their possessions.
After the healing of the lame man in Acts 3, this chapter shows the first official opposition to the church. The same council that condemned Jesus now questions his disciples. Under pressure, the church answers with boldness, prayer and generosity, three marks that run through the rest of the book.
While Peter and John are speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees come up, annoyed that they are teaching the resurrection of the dead in Jesus. They arrest them and hold them in custody until the next day. Even so, many of those who heard believe, and the number of men grows to about five thousand.
The next day the rulers, elders and scribes gather, including Annas and Caiaphas, and ask by what power or name they did this. Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, answers that the man was healed by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom they crucified and God raised. He says Jesus is the stone rejected by the builders that has become the cornerstone, and that there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.
Seeing the boldness of men with no formal training, the council members recognize that they had been with Jesus. With the healed man standing next to them, they cannot deny the sign and confer privately. Then they order them to stop speaking or teaching in the name of Jesus. Peter and John answer that they should judge whether it is right to obey men rather than God, for they cannot stop speaking about what they have seen and heard. The council lets them go without punishment, for fear of the people.
The apostles return to their friends, and all pray together, quoting Psalm 2 and asking for boldness to speak the word while God stretches out his hand to heal. The place where they are gathered is shaken, they are filled with the Spirit and speak with boldness. The whole group of believers is of one heart and soul; no one claims his possessions as his own, and those who own land sell it and distribute to the needy. Joseph, nicknamed Barnabas, son of encouragement, a Levite from Cyprus, sells a field and brings the money to the apostles.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Peter declares that there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. The claim is exclusive and is spoken in love before those with power to punish him; salvation is found in Jesus alone.
The rulers are amazed at the boldness of Peter and John, men with no formal training, and recognize that they had been with Jesus. A witness's best credential is having spent time with Christ.
Peter and John say that the council should judge whether it is right to obey men rather than God, for they cannot stop speaking about what they have seen and heard. Obeying authorities has a limit when they contradict God's command to proclaim Christ.
After they pray, the place is shaken, and all are filled with the Holy Spirit and speak the word of God with boldness. God answers a persecuted church's prayer with new courage, not with the disappearance of the problem.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. — Acts 4:1-2
Answer: About five thousand. — Acts 4:4
Answer: That there is salvation in no one else but Jesus, for there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. — Acts 4:12
Answer: That they were uneducated, common men, but that they had been with Jesus. — Acts 4:13
Answer: That God would let them speak his word with all boldness and stretch out his hand to heal and do signs. — Acts 4:29-30
Answer: A Levite from Cyprus who sold a field and laid the money at the apostles' feet. — Acts 4:36-37
Acts 4 teaches that a Christian's boldness comes from having been with Jesus, not from special talents. In your group you can share a situation in which you stayed silent out of fear and pray together for the boldness the church asked for in this chapter.
The chapter also highlights generosity without compulsion. The believers shared because no one claimed his possessions as his own. Ask how you can meet a concrete need of a brother or sister in your church this week, as Barnabas did with what he had.
Acts 4 ends with a united and generous community, with the example of Barnabas. Acts 5 shows the other side: inside that same community the hypocrisy of Ananias and Sapphira appears, along with stronger persecution.
The text affirms that salvation is found only in the name of Jesus. Evangelical Christians understand that salvation comes through Christ alone and faith in him, and so they share the gospel with everyone, with humility and love.
Annas was a former high priest and a very influential man, and Caiaphas was the serving high priest and his son-in-law. Both had taken part in Jesus's trial, which gives their presence here special weight.
There is no sign of compulsion: Peter will say in the next chapter that property belonged to each person. Believers shared willingly and according to need, which showed their love and unity.