Acts 4:1-4 And as they spoke to the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came on them,… I. THE GROUND OF IT. 1. Religious intolerance - "the priests." 2. Political animosity - " the captain of the temple." A representative of Rome, alarmed by the crowd and fearing popular tumult. 3. Rationalistic unbelief - "the Sadducees." The troubles of the Church are thus foreshadowed, proceeding from the three different sources which will always unite against the truth. Against two facts they rose up: the people were taught; the Resurrection was the substance of the teaching. Popular religion is never liked by priests, rulers, and infidels. They are "sore troubled" when the gospel manifests its power. So it was in the Reformation. The old and corrupt Church gained over the state to its purposes. And soon there was a great rising up of the proud intellect of man against the simplicity of the message. At the bottom of this combined movement was a stricken conscience. The Resurrection condemned them all. They knew it. So still the Resurrection condemns the corruptions of the Church, the despotism of the world, and the pride of unbelief. We must never reckon on a peaceful victory. The people are not really cared for by the high ones of this world. They learn no lessons from the past. Progress must be in spite of them. II. THE MANNER OF IT. 1. Cautious. "Put them in ward unto the morrow" (Revised Version). Fear of the people; recognition of the power of the apostles; bewilderment in the sense of their own guilty part in the Crucifixion; pretended respect for the forms of justice and self-deceived conventionalism. Underneath punctiliousness there is often a great depth of pride and hollow-heartedness. 2. Tentative. It was not a full burst of fury against the apostles, but an experiment to see how far they would go in their defiance of authorities. It was supposed that a night in prison would quell their courage, that an appearance before the Sanhedrim would probably break off the rising plant at the root, for it was seen that there was no great display of physical force among the sect. 3. Ignorant and perplexed in policy, for there could be no decided and deliberate movements against the new doctrine on such grounds. Nor were the elements of the conspiracy congenial. Priests would care nothing for Sadducees, and Roman rulers despised both. They could not have studied either the facts of the ease or the characters of the apostles. They made a dash upon them in the provocation of the moment, hoping to snuff out the light at once. Their ignorance of Scripture and worldliness of spirit made them capable of such folly, and the fruit of it was a very significant rebuff. III. THE EFFECT OF IT. 1. On the Church itself. (See the rest of the chapter.) Deepening the spiritual life; promoting brotherly love, prayerfulness, and sympathy; preparing for future trials; revealing the utter weakness of the opposition; fulfilling the promise of Christ as to their endowment in the presence of enemies; magnifying the gospel in their sight; helping them to feel that they must hearken unto God and not unto men; deepening their insight into Scripture and enlarging their prospect of the future triumphs of the gospel, which they thought of in the spirit of prophecy. 2. On the world. Drawing to them popular sympathy; making them the talk of Jerusalem, and so leading many to inquiry; testing the hearers whether they were prepared to encounter such dangers for Christ. The five thousand would be henceforth drawn together, and the world would see the Church more distinctly. It was well that the new doctrine should be manifestly put over against the old. Many may have been perplexed by the reverence which apostles showed for the temple and its worship. While still addressing themselves to Jews, it was now plain that to be a disciple of Christ was to break away from Judaism. The effect of the miracle would be heightened; for it would be asked, naturally, why the workers of such a cure should be so treated. It has never been a success to persecute. It shows weakness in the persecutor; it reveals power in the persecuted; it spreads abroad facts that might otherwise be ignored. This beginning of the Church's fight with false religion and worldly pride throws great light along the ages, and teaches us many a lesson concerning Church history. - R. Parallel Verses KJV: And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, |
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