Download Acts 5:12-14 - Great Barr Church of Christ

Apostles
Persecuted
Acts 5:12-24
Finding God? (Acts 5:12-14)
Two categories of people:
“No one else dared join them”
“More and more believed”
The Battalion Restated:
Walk with Jesus vs. Walk Away
In the spiritual battle of Satan against God,
there is no MIDDLE GROUND.
There is no such thing as a HALF-WAY Christian.
(Luke 9:23-24)
 Acts
5:12-16
 12 The apostles performed many miraculous
signs and wonders among the people. And all
the believers used to meet together in Solomon's
Colonnade. 13 No one else dared join them,
even though they were highly regarded by the
people. 14 Nevertheless, more and more men
and women believed in the Lord and were added
to their number.
Temple Model –
Solomon’s Colonnade across back
Herod’s Temple
 Solomon’s
Photo by Morris
Cromer
Porch was part of the Herod
Temple complex.
Solomon’s
Porch
(Colonade)
“Solomon’s Porch (Portico) was 800
feet long (nearly 3 football fields)
with 162 Corinthian Columns up to
100 feet tall.

Solomon's Colonnade (Porch)
 Solomon’s
Colonnade was a great open
air porch (colonnade) which was a
portion of the east side of the temple
called the court of the Gentiles built on
foundations originally set by the order of
Solomon. It was here in Acts 3:11 that
Peter healed the cripple beggar and
where Jesus had taught (John 10:23).
 Although
the multitudes were favorably disposed
to the Apostles and the disciples, few were
willing to risk the wrath of the Jewish rulers to
make a public confession.
 v13-14 seem to imply that the conversions were
continuing in large numbers but in more private
settings.
 v13 -14: No one else dared join them, even
though they were highly regarded by the people.
Nevertheless, more and more men and women
believed in the Lord and were added to their
number.
Temple and Its Courts (Model)
Question:
At least how many
Christians met at
Solomon’s Colonnade?

Acts 5:14;
 “4
But many who
heard the message
believed, and the
number of men grew
to about five
thousand.” Acts 4:4
Peter’s Shadow Heals
 15
As a result, people brought the sick
into the streets and laid them on beds and
mats so that at least Peter's shadow might
fall on some of them as he passed by. 16
Crowds gathered also from the towns
around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and
those tormented by evil spirits, and all of
them were healed.
The Preaching Continued
 Every
day in Solomon’s Colonnade, a place
where Jews and Gentiles could gather in great
numbers, the Apostles preached and the
miracles confirmed their word as the Word of
God.
 The fake miracle workers of today tell people
who come to them for healing but are NOT
healed that their faith was just not strong
enough.
Bible Miracles
 We
have already looked at the nature of Bible
miracles. No one did or could question that they
were real miracles.
 There is one more important fact I want to
mention: NO ONE who came to JESUS or to an
APOSTLE to be healed was ever sent away
without being healed.
 Verse 17 says, “ALL of them were healed.”
 In Matthew 12:15 and Luke 6:19, the Bible
(NKJV) says Jesus healed ALL who came to
Him for healing. NO FAILURES THERE!
Acts 5:12-16;
Miracles were used to confirm
the words of the apostles.
The death of Ananias and
Sapphira could be viewed as a
“negative” miracle used to
confirm the importance of truth.
Acts 5:12-16;
Miracles were used to confirm the words of
the apostles.
The “positive” miracles were used to confirm
the words taught by the apostles.
(Cf. Hebrews 2:1-4)
Today, our confirmation is found in the
recorded miracles and teaching in the
inspired word of God
 Acts
5:17-20
 17 Then the high priest and all his
associates, who were members of the party
of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.
18 They arrested the apostles and put them
in the public jail. 19 But during the night an
angel of the Lord opened the doors of the
jail and brought them out. 20 "Go, stand in
the temple courts," he said, "and tell the
people the full message of this new life."
Sanhedrin: Acts 5:17-18;
The
Sanhedrin was the
official leadership of the
Jewish nation consisting
of about 71 influential
men including the high
priest.
The
Sadducees were a
group that did not
believe in angels or the
resurrection of the
dead.
Apostles Arrested
Then
the high priest rose up, and all they that were
with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were
filled with indignation, and laid their hands on the
apostles, and put them in the common prison. (KJV)
What issues do the Sadducees have with the apostles?
Sadducees Oppose the apostles doctrines
They FEAR that the people would REVOLT
Revolt against them (they were not popular
amongst the common people)
And revolt against Rome
Acts
4:1-2 – And as they spake unto the people, the
priests, and the captain of the temple, and the
Sadducees, came upon them, being grieved that they
taught the people, and preached through Jesus the
resurrection from the dead.
Matt 22:23 – The same day came to him the
Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection
Acts 23:7-8 – …there arose a dissension between the
Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was
divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no
resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees
confess both.(KJV)
This is ANOTHER Attempt to Stifle the
Gospel
The
High Priest and his associates try again to
stifle the Apostles by arresting them and putting
them into the public jail.
They were jealous because the people were going
after the Apostles and leaving them and their
authority.
They are getting bolder. I think this is indicated
by the fact that the jail where the Apostles are put
this time is the public jail.
 God’s
angel brings the Apostles out of the jail
and tells them to go to the temple courts and
preach openly.
 Acts 5:21
 21 At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as
they had been told, and began to teach the
people.
 The Apostles obey. That morning they appear in
the temple courts and boldly testify to the
resurrection of Jesus and explain what it means
for man’s salvation.
 The angel had said “Tell the people the full
message of this new life.”
Acts 5:17-21;
The angel of the Lord delivered
the apostles from prison.
This was a limited act in that the
Lord did not always protect the
apostles. Consider James
whom Herod killed. (Acts 12:1-4)
The Lord delivered the apostles
so that they could continue to
teach.
While the Lord may not work in
the same way as He did with the
apostles.
We do know that the Lord will
never leave us. (Hebrews 13:5-6)
The Full Sanhedrin Meets
 Acts
5:21-24
 When the high priest and his associates
arrived, they called together the
Sanhedrin-the full assembly of the elders
of Israel-and sent to the jail for the
apostles. 22 But on arriving at the jail,
the officers did not find them there.
The Sanhedrin
 The
Sanhedrin was the “Supreme Court” of
the Jewish nation.
 According to the Mishna, the Sanhedrin was
composed of about seventy tribal elders
presided over by the High Priest and his
priestly associates. A group of scribes
served as legal advisors.
 This was an aristocratic body composed of
the rich and powerful Pharisees and
Sadducees.
So
they went back and reported, 23
"We found the jail securely locked,
with the guards standing at the
doors; but when we opened them,
we found no one inside." 24 On
hearing this report, the captain of
the temple guard and the chief
priests were puzzled, wondering
what would come of this.
 When
the Sanhedrin sent some of their
officers to the jail to bring the Apostles
before the court, they found the cell locked
with the guards at their posts outside the
cell doors. But when they looked inside the
cell it was empty.
 There is no physical explanation of how
this could have happened.
 Of course the Sanhedrin had to know it had
been a miracle
Conclusion to Acts 5:1-24;
 By
their obvious supernatural knowledge
and wisdom, their miraculous powers and
the fact that no jail can hold them the people
believe the Apostles are servants of God
preaching a message from God.
 Even the rulers of the Jews have to know
these men are guided and empowered by
God. Still, as they did with Jesus, they cannot
bear to think of losing their prestige and
their power over the people.
 By
these things and by what happened to
Ananias and Sapphira, the authority of the
Apostles is well established among the common
people, especially the disciples.
 After these threats, beatings and incarcerations
will the Apostle keep on preaching in the
temple?
 If they do, what will the rulers of the Jews do
next? Will they jail them and beat them again?
Will they kill them?
 We will find out in the next lesson, Acts 5:25ff
Jesus called them one by one,
Peter, Andrew, James and John.
Then came Philip, Thomas too,
Matthew and Bartholomew,
James, the one they call "the Less,"
Simon, also Thaddeus.
The twelfth apostle Judas made,
Jesus was by him betrayed.
Twelve in all, he called to him.
"Apostles," was His name for them.
They went out to "fish for men,"
Faithfully they followed him.
From his baptism by John,
And to his resurrection,
It became their special call
To bear their witness to it all -
All Jesus Christ had said and done.
All were faithful - all but one.
And their testimony true,
Can also be believed by you.
They maintained it until their death,
And always spoke by Spirit's breath.
The Spirit spoke through them God’s word,
Reminding them of what they'd heard,
Allowing them to do great signs,
And to pen the Bible's lines.
All were martyred for their Lord
To confirm the gospel word -
ALL BUT ONE
At a hundred years or more,
John embarked for heaven's shore
The only one who was not killed.
His prophet’s mission, he fulfilled.
"Apostle" means one who is sent.
To all the world apostles went.
Their word today is just as good
As when upon the earth they stood.
The gospel message will not change,
So we must not rearrange
God's system or his teaching.
Let's not be overreaching.
Jesus called them one by one:
Peter, Andrew, James and John...
Twelve in all he called to him.
"Apostles," Jesus named them.
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