Does The Exclusivity of Jesus Make You Bold or Blind? (AM Sermon Notes)
GIST: Jesus alone can save. We should boldly proclaim this, not blindly ignore it.
SCRIPTURE: Acts 4:5-16
Today we’re picking up where we left off last week. As Peter and John came to the temple to pray, they were met by a man born lame. He cried out for alms, temporary relief, but was pointed to Jesus instead...and was miraculously healed. Though he had been lame for over 40 years, he was jumping up and down and praising God! This drew a crowd, so Peter took the opportunity and explained that this physical healing pointed to a deeper spiritual healing--one we all need. We are born with a terminal condition. Our sin has no other end but Hell. Yet, Jesus came and took on Hell for us. We don’t need a bandaid, but we need a life transformation. That happens when we give Jesus control of our lives.
Then, last Sunday night we saw the results. People were amazed, and many received this message and were saved. However, there was opposition, as well. In fact, Peter and John ended up being arrested by the religious ruling body and put in prison overnight to await trial. Our passage this morning opens up with that trial.
"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." 13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. 14 But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. 15 But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 16 saying, "What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.”
There is a lot we could take from this passage this morning. However, as we walk through it together, I want to focus in on the differences between the apostles and the religious rulers’ reactions to Jesus’ exclusive claims as Savior. Here’s our gist: Jesus alone can save. We should boldly proclaim this, not blindly ignore it.
I. THE INTIMIDATION FACTOR (5-7)
Last Sunday evening, we talked about how persecution and salvations should both be expected when sharing the Gospel. What we have here is the first recorded persecution of the early church. We’ll see much more as we move through this account. This is a point we have to wrap our minds around. Where God is moving, there will always be opposition. Therefore, rather than fixating on the negatives as they come our way and being paralyzed by them, we must seek God’s face all the more to see what He would have us learn from these trials while also looking forward all the more to His continued work! Now, that’s probably another point for another sermon ☺️, but as a church we have to remember this.
From the text itself, I want to make two statements about the nature of this trial. First, →
This Was An Intimidating Trial. The religious ruling body at this time was called the Sanhedrin. Basically, this was comprised of 71 of the most elite members of Jewish society, including, of course, the high priest and his family. We don’t know if the entire assembly was present here, but it appears to have been at least a solid representation of that council, and we know for sure that Annas and Caiaphas were both there, which is a big deal. Annas had been the high priest, but when the Romans took over, they kicked him out and put his son-in-law, Caiaphas, in his place. However, it’s very clear that Annas still held sway in the eyes of the Jews as high priest usually served life terms. So, his removable seems to have been a nominal one.
Furthermore, we cannot forget Peter and John were Jews. They had been raised to revere these men and what they represented. Now, their experiences with Jesus undoubtedly changed their understanding of what these men actually stood for, but we still cannot downplay the effect standing before this council in this city would have had on them. I think it’s safe to assume it would have had a bigger effect than it even would for us standing on trial before the Supreme Court.
So, this was an intimidating trial, and it was →
Designed to Discredit Their Claims. The question they were asked essentially amounted to, “what makes you think you can do this?” Remember, they were mad because the apostles’ teachings on the resurrection opposed theirs. They don’t want that to continue. However, as we’ll get to in a second, they can’t attack those claims, so they go to the more visible issue--just like they had with Jesus. These men had just been linked to the healing of a lame man. If they were not doing this in the name of God, then you could be stoned (Skip Heitzig). This council represented “God’s approval” to this culture. Clearly, they did not approve of what the apostles were doing, so they were trying to discredit them. And the stakes were high. If, in fact, they could not prove they were serving God here, they would be sentenced to death.
The intimidation factor is high. But, look at their response.
II. THE BOLD RESPONSE (8-13)
In the face of this intimidation, Peter and John respond with incredible boldness. I want to look at their response under three headings, and I think you’ll notice a recurring theme ☺️. First, they clearly explain→
Jesus Is The Reason This Man Has Been Transformed (8-10). Peter is very consistent in his preaching of the Gospel. Every time he’s spoken in this book so far, he’s gone back to the same central truths. Jesus is God. You killed Him. You need Him. That is no different here. He starts by calling out their unnecessary objection. “You’re upset because this guy was healed? Well, if you want to know who did that, it was Jesus, whom you killed. God raised Him up, and He changed this man’s life!” Notice, he pulls the resurrection card. He knows what the real issue is! It wasn’t about the man being healed; it was about Jesus being God. They didn’t want to accept it, but Peter could not but proclaim that Jesus alone was the one who could have done this...and He did!
Then, he goes on to explain→
Jesus Is The Only Way Anyone Can Be Saved From Their Hell-Bound Condition (11-12). Again, he doesn’t mince words. This claim is exclusive: Jesus is everything. He is the cornerstone. The piece that holds everything together, the foundation, which means He’s necessary. Necessary for what? Our salvation. We are sinners destined for Hell, and we need rescued. Jesus is that rescuer, and rescue will come from no other. He’s not just an option amongst many, but the only way to salvation. In fact, verse 12 says “there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” This is a universal need. You need to be saved. You were made for Him. To have true life, you MUST be saved by Him!
We talked about this at some length last Sunday evening, but it bears repeating. Our society will not often be receptive to this exclusive claim, but we cannot allow that to make us shrink from sharing it. I’ve used examples like this often, but they really resonate with me. If there is only one way out of a burning building, telling people they need to go that way to survive is not repressive; it’s liberating. What if they get mad at you and tell you to go that way if you want, but they don’t need to be limited by that path? Keep telling them the truth. Rejection of the truth does not make it less true, nor does it make it less of a need for them!
After pointing to this need, we see that even the religious opposition realized→
This Boldness Was The Result of… Jesus. (8a, 13) Verse 8 opens by telling us Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit. We’ve been talking about this pretty often lately, but this filling was not a new filling, but a special equipping. This is a fulfillment of what Jesus had promised them in Mark 13, “10 And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. 11 And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.”
And when the religious elite saw this they recognized it. Remember the reaction people had to Jesus’ teachings? “22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.” (Mark 1:22). Being with Jesus gave them boldness. In fact, realizing His exclusivity fueled their speech.
Do you see the common denominator in their claims? What made them bold and what were they being bold about? Jesus. Only Jesus. This is actually a crucial point to grasp. Bold Christianity is not just loud, opinionated living. Bold Christianity is never shrinking from pointing always to Jesus.
So they saw the exclusive truth of Jesus and His salvation, and it made them bold. The religious elite had a very different reaction. →
III. THE BLIND REACTION (14-16)
I know I have been longer of these first points, so I’ll try to be more brief here. There are two basic observations I want to make. First→
They Could Not Deny The Evidence (14). The healed man was standing in front of them. They couldn’t deny that what had happened was a miracle. Furthermore, as we mentioned last week, they didn’t even try to cut to the core issue either (preaching of the resurrection) for the same reason. There was too much evidence pointing to Jesus having actually been raised from the dead. Which meant, there was too much evidence that He really was God and really could do what these men were claiming...which meant the other claims about Him and His salvation were also true. →
But They Wanted To Stop Them Anyway (15-16). This is spiritual blindness. They could not deny it, but they did not want to see it, so they decided to try and just make it disappear. We’ll see more of what they decided to do this evening. But for this morning, I just want to make this observation. Rejecting Jesus is not an intellectual decision at its core; it’s always a spiritual issue. Now, I’m not saying people never provide intellectual reasons, but the issue is always a heart issue. By nature, we do not want God. We are blind, and we need Jesus to open our eyes, so we might see.
TAKEAWAYS
1. Pray for Holy Spirit boldness because it’s not natural. I have to admit: I am not as bold as I know I should be. Sure, I am here, or anywhere else where I can hide behind the church. When it’s the expectation, I can do it. When it’s not, it’s harder. However, this is one reason I love being a bivocational pastor. When I say we should be boldly proclaiming Jesus in our workplaces, I can look at you with honesty and say, “and I’m part of that “we”, and I get that that’s not easy.”
So let me just give you these pieces of advice. First, make excuses for yourself to share the Gospel. I don’t know what this will look like for you. I know for me it has been a number of smalls things. I host a before school faculty prayer meeting every week and sponsor our Christian club. Any time tragedy hits with a colleague, I try to be intentional about reaching out to them to let them know I’m praying for them. These are little things, but they have opened some pretty awesome doors.
But let me also say, pray for boldness outside these excused areas too. Honestly guys, for every moment of boldness, I still have just as many if not more moments of fear. Even this week, I had a student ask me, “Why are you always so happy?” It was in the middle of our advisement class, so I had different groups working independently. But, I froze a little. Eventually, I did come back and tell her it was because of my faith...but it was a cop-out answer. I knew I needed to proclaim the name of Jesus, but in that moment, I didn’t. We need boldness because our natural reaction is fear, but Jesus’ name deserves our bold proclamation!
2. Seek the Truth, not what you wish was the truth. We live in a culture that sees truth as a very fluid concept. It’s not. Even if the truths of Scripture do not line up with what you want, be honest enough to seek Him, not your own preferences. Don’t let sin make you blind to His salvation.
3. Stand firm even in the midst of overwhelming opposition...because His foundation is unshakeable. It’s been a few months since I quoted one of my favorite verses, so I think it’s high time to close with it again☺️. “33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
No comments:
Post a Comment