Commentary by Ron Beckham

Verse 1.  "And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard, and the Sadducees, came upon them,"

You (like the apostles) can be doing precisely that which is right in life, and yet trouble may come to you.  It is hard to imagine anyone who could be more in the center of God’s will than these men of God.  Jesus had ordered them to "Go" (Matthew 28:19) and they were going.  In that same verse, they were told to "make disciples".   Now they were trying to do just that, and yet, here came the "priests and captain of the temple guard", to arrest them.  To have favorable responses, from a human perspective, does not always measure the worth of our actions.

Jesus did say (John 15:20), "If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you," too.  It is important, though, that we not bring persecution just because we are disagreeable in personality.  We must look continually to God, seeking Him at all times, loving Him, and trusting in Him.  If trouble comes (and it will), let it be simply because His love is in us.  Our efforts will fail sometimes, but this love He has given us, will last forever.

Verse 2.  "being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead."

There is a lot in life that is disturbing to us, and our tendency is to strike back at that which we do not understand.  The first question we must ask, when the unthinkable occurs to us should be, "Is it true?  Then the second follows naturally, "What should I do about it?  These men (the priests and temple guard) were not thinking accurately, for Jesus really had risen from the dead, and all the Scriptures they purported to defend were actually summed up in Him.  In His death, He had become the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world.

Yet they felt they must stop this kind of talk, because it did not agree with their preconceived notions.  A man had been healed, but they (the priests) did not really care about the truth or the one who was healed.  Jesus Christ is the One sent to us in the center of history, Who can heal our broken lives.  We actually define ourselves and our future by the manner in which we receive that information about Him.   Let us not be like these men, who compounded ignorance with murderous thoughts that would lead to violent acts.

Verse 3.  "And they laid hands on them, and put them in jail until the next day, for it was already evening."

It’s time to decide (as both the apostles and the priests did) – Are we going to choose reputation?  Or favor instead with God?  It really was a choice for them, and for us.  As the disciples became more and more sold out to God, they lessened in reputation with those in earthly power, and they experienced more outward problems.  The closer we are to God, the more clear the choice.  And the closer to Him we are, the more we know His love.

In Deuteronomy 30:19-20, Moses set an awesome choice before the people.  They could choose "life of death, blessing or cursing," and he urged them to "choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days."  We probably will not go to prison for our faith, as the apostles did.  But we are wise to cling to God, love Him, and obey His Voice.   For if we do, we will know LIFE and the blessings of God.

Verse 4.  "But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand."

In Him, you are like a precious container, a chosen water glass, that holds the "living water" Jesus spoke about (John 4:10-14) - for you contain the Holy Spirit of God.  It is not your job or mine, to convert the world.  Our function is to simply belong to Him, in faith, and in trust.  To become so transparent that He might be seen in us, and then, let Him do the rest.  These apostles had become content to be simple tools in the Hand of Almighty God, and the result was:   "many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of men came to be about 5,000."

It is not in your strength that men and women will be saved; it is in the power of God.

Verse 5-6.  "And it came about on the next day, that their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together In Jerusalem, and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent."

Some people avoid being the center of attention, all of their lives.  But others have a desire to be where "it’s happening!"  To be in on the decision making, to be at the place of power, is a goal of many.  Even those who never seek power, are drawn to those who do, as evidenced by the multitudes who read anything they can get their hands on, about notable persons, such as movie stars, athletes, and politicians.

This was it!  This place where the "rulers and elders and scribes were gathered" was like "Oscar Night", and all the eyes of Jerusalem were upon them.  This was the Jewish seat of power, and our guys, who were themselves Jewish, were right at the center of this "happening" in Jerusalem, the "Washington, DC" of that land.  This would be awesome, but from a strictly human perspective, this would not be a positive time for the disciples – they were on trial for their lives.

Verse 7.  "And when they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire, ‘By what power, or in what name, have you done this?’"

The prosecution began presenting its case against the apostles of our Lord, asking a question designed to place them in a bad light.  Those doing the asking knew perfectly well "what Name" was involved here!  The real issue, as in most human relationships, was the source of the power concerned.  They knew what was done, and Who did it.  Now the question was, how could they stay in power, when the true Power of God (expressed in Christ Jesus) had again been revealed, right in their midst!  Right in front of them, where they could not ignore what had happened.

God delights in placing us into situations where we must consider what is really important in life.  These rulers liked being in positions of importance, and they were afraid of losing what they had.  This was the real issue here, as it often is with us.  We are all growing old, by the way, and we are all going to lose everything we have.  It is therefore time to give up bringing attention to ourselves and give the rightful glory to God.  He is, after all, the One thing (Person) we can take with us when we go – all else will be left behind.

Verse 8.  "Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers and elders of the people,’"

During the 3-year ministry of Jesus on earth, the disciples often did and said the wrong things.  They seem to me to have gone from one problem to another – but not anymore. They now knew what to say and what to do, and the difference is right here in this verse.  Before Peter did or said anything, he was "filled with the Holy Spirit."  He (God’s Holy Spirit) is the key to making right, all that is wrong in your life.  He is the One you need, before you act, before you speak, and the time to receive Him is now.  Join me, if you will.

"Lord God, we need Your Son, Christ Jesus, so much, that we receive Him anew, right now, and is in that Name (the Name of Jesus), we boldly ask for even more:   Please give us the Holy Spirit, Lord, right now, that we may live a life right here on this earth, which is pleasing to You.  Forgive us, Heal us, Save us, Lord Jesus.   Fill us, Holy Spirit.  We thank You, Lord, for your kindness toward us.   In Jesus Name. Amen.

Verse 9.  "if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well,"

"Let me see if I can get this straight, now?", God through Peter was essentially asking, "We’re on trial today, because a man in his 40’s, born lame, & crippled since birth, is now able to walk and leap and praise God.  And you’re asking Who healed him?  Is that right?  I certainly don’t want to miss the point of your question, most honored prosecutor."

If you like pointed sarcasm, you’ll love this verse, right here in the Word of God.  There was no technology of that time which could have restored that man.   Such a change in a person’s physical condition was UNTHINKABLE!  It was beyond the wildest dream of all of them, and "You’re asking (he went on), Who did it?"

It is exactly like us looking at the micro and macro universe – the smaller things are, the more complicated they become, and the farther we look out, the more complex we discover it is, and here we are on earth, asking "how did all this happen?"   God created the universe, and God healed this man.

Verse 10.  "let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead - by this name this man stands here before you in good health."

They should have known; it should have been known to all Israel; indeed, the whole world should know – this "Man" we killed, the One the Father raised from the dead, is the Person Who Healed the formerly lame man in Jerusalem.  Note the barb here; Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, a group this council thought was "beneath" them.  Jesus identified with the less fortunate of this world.

We killed Jesus Christ, because our attitudes have been just as bad as these men who had the disciples on trial.  As a people, we don’t like outside interfer- ence, even though such "interference" is demonstrably for our own good.

We are reasonably sad, because of something that has happened to us, and so we drink, or use drugs, or overeat, or whatever – we do anything but turn to God who would make us whole, as this man.  This refusal to receive God in our need, the God Who made us, is our sin, and is the cause of the murder of our Lord.  In the Name of Jesus, you can be made whole.  It’s time to rise up and walk – in Him.

Verse 11.  "He is the Stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the very corner stone."

Peter directly quotes Psalm 118:22, which is distinctly a Messianic Psalm (it could be successfully argued that all the Old Testament is about Jesus Christ).   Flowing out of that verse in Psalms, in 118:24, "this is the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."  You know, we need to rejoice!   I see so many unhappy people – laughing one minute and then back to stone-faced the next.  Where is the joy? – It’s in Jesus Christ.  The very Christ we have rejected is the One we need.  They rejected Him and so do we; as a people, we desperately need Him, right now.  He is the Chief Cornerstone, and the whole building (of your life) falls without Him.

Verse 12.  "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved."

I remember the pastor who first introduced me to "eastern" religions, many years ago.  He said in a sermon (and looked at me – it was a small church), "…there are many roads to God…" No, there aren’t.   Some months later, when I was sitting in a "Hindu" monastery, with Muslim and Buddhist and other symbols on the altar, God spoke right to my heart, "telling" me to get out of there and go to Jesus Christ.  I did, and I can personally tell you (as in this verse) "there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved."

All you have to do is look around and it’s easy to see we (humanity) are a lost race of people in a lost world.   And this term "saved", by the way, is not some word of the Church – it is here given by Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit (verse 8).  In that word (saved), we see how lost we are, and that we can only be saved from our lost condition in Christ Jesus.  There is no other way, no other Name.

Verse 13.  "Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John, and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were marveling, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus."

They saw those men of Galilee and understood that they simply did not have the education and training to debate with such clarity of mind and eloquence of speech; but they did.  These religious leaders also saw that these men had been with Jesus.   The Greek here is not "began to recognize" as in the American Standard – the Greek is literally "recognized them that with Jesus they were (had been)".  They had all the information needed and they understood what they saw – a man had been healed!  In the Name of Jesus. These disciples were followers of Him.  They used that Name.  The next step for the religious leaders was so obvious, for Jesus was the Messiah they supposedly had waited for, all those hundreds of years.

There is only one (1) possible reason why the religious leaders were not all "saved" at that time: They did not want God!  There is no other explanation.  They were led to a place where the light was obvious, and they refused to open their eyes and see that light!

Verse 14.  "And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply."

There was a silence now.  Their mouths were open – they wanted to seize the moment and refute these Galileans, but they could not.  They (not the disciples) were wrong, and it was obvious to all.  They had no words to utter.  This is the way it will be someday, when all of us are standing before the Holy God, Maker of heaven and of earth – We will have nothing to say.  Seeing Him will say it all.

Verse 15.  "But when they had ordered them to go aside out of the Council, they began to confer with one another,"

"Let’s talk this over, guys…", they were saying to one another, after Peter and the others were escorted out into the hallway.  This was "damage control." They were about to put "spin" on all this, that would seem to negate the truth.  Paul saw the same reality in Romans 1:18, and context – "They (those who reject Christ) suppress the truth in unrighteousness."   Further (1:17), "that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them;" (1:20), "they are without excuse, and (1:22), "professing themselves to be wise, they become fools."

Verse 16.  "saying, ‘What shall we do with these men?  For the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.’"

You see, they did perceive the truth.  This (the healing of the crippled man) really was a miracle (from God).  These disciples were the human agents responsible for it, but it all was from God, and it has already been seen that they recognized these were men of Jesus Christ.  They could not deny what had happened, because they knew it was true.   Everybody in the area of Jerusalem could SEE it was true.

They did not receive the truth (Jesus is "the truth", John 14:6), because they loved being religious leaders, more than they loved God.   What do you love more than God?  Whatever or whoever it is, it’s time to let it go, and turn to our Lord.

Verse 17.  "But in order that it may not spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to any man in this name."

Many years ago, my "big boss" had me "on the carpet" in front of him, flanked by his four chief deputies (one of them had just tried to tell me an off-color joke, by the way), and was telling me I could "not speak the Name of Jesus" anymore.  This was a man in charge of a workforce of thousands of people.   It wasn’t like I was some kind of "wild-eyed evangelist" as he seemed to be implying.  I simply led a small Bible study at lunch (there were 5 of us) and I was counseling an elderly employee, whose life seemed to have gone out of control.

My experience was not perfectly like the one in this Scripture, but the idea was there – it was not the truth or the needs of people that was important to my boss, it was simply about maintaining order and control in the workplace.  This was the situation here in this verse – the religious leaders had no interest in the truth or in this healed man – they just wanted order and control.

Verse 18.  "And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus."

Many people have legs.  Some do not but most do.  When I was a boy, the doctor commanded me to not use my legs because I had rheumatic fever, and I did not use them for several years.  They worked perfectly well, and it was very hard to not use them.  To have the Holy Spirit of God and be told you cannot speak of Jesus, is very much the same, only much more so.  There comes a point where you must walk!   To not speak of Jesus is especially difficult, because the Holy Spirit, Who loves you, has commanded you to speak, as He leads.  The two circumstances are quite similar.

This section of Scripture is greatly important to every one of us.  In Romans 13, we are essentially commanded to obey government authorities, because they are God’s agents (whether they know it or not).  What do we do, when those authorities command us to not do, what God has specifically ordered us to do?   When is civil disobedience acceptable for the Christian?

Verse 19.  "But Peter and John answered and said to them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge;’"

Some things are simply obvious and to not see is to refuse to see, which is the true basis of all "denial of reality."  Such is the case in Romans 1:19-20, where it is pointed out that God is clearly evident to all those who are just willing to "see" Him.  I was an "atheist" many years ago, and I now see that I held that position because I refused to consider all the evidence.  God is experiential for us, in that we must receive Him.  Not so different from water - How do I know it’s wet?  I jump in and find out!

Peter and John were saying it is obvious that we must obey God rather than men.   However, we should all be very careful to search ourselves (2 Corinthians 13:2) and make certain God is the One leading; & that this is not just some whim of our own.  But when we know something is the leading of God, we must respond to Him.  I can almost see Peter shrugging his shoulders, raising his hands, and asking "Who should we follow, you or God?"  And this is important – we must prayerfully find out who we are following, and if it is God, then we trust in Him with every fiber in our being, in every area of our lives.  If that creates a conflict with others, then so be it.

Verse 20.  "for we cannot stop speaking what we have seen and heard."

When I graduated from a college I had felt called by God to attend, I expected open doors to ministry.  My only problem, I thought, would be which door to choose.  It didn’t happen like that, because every door (every "reasonable" door, as I looked at it) seemed closed.  Another problem was income – the steady, more than adequate income we had enjoyed for many years, simply wasn’t there anymore.  We were struggling for survival.  Now, the "doors" weren’t completely closed, for I often taught small Bible studies, usually attended by 1 or 2 or a few people, while I precariously clung to some niche or another in the business world.  I thought I had been forgotten by God; that I was somehow overlooked.

The key issue is the call of God – the disciples had that call.  When He has called you, He also selects the circumstances of your life, including the method of giving you advanced training in what is needed.  How, for example, could I properly respond to the need of some other person, unless I had been in need myself?  When it is suddenly clear you are not forgotten, but He is merely shaping you, then contentment will fill your soul.

And you will go about "speaking things (you) have seen and heard," whether it is to one person or a thousand, no longer matters at all.  What matters is the call and the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.

Verse 21.  "And when they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which they might punish them) on account of the people, because they were all glorifying God for what had happened;"

Back in the early 1970’s, I noticed with surprise and great interest, that approximately 80% of the theologians who wrote about Scripture, did not believe in it at all.  That is, even though they made their living from the Word of God, they did not believe it was true.  Just like the religious leaders in this verse.

We all need intelligent input.  But those who "profess themselves to be wise" (Romans 1:22), tend to become "fools."  As to "the people" of this verse, "they all glorified God for what had been done" (NKJV – a crippled man had been healed).

I had a satisfying philosophy of life, back in the 60’s.  The fact that it was not based in reality or truth was not a concern to me.  Then I started to experience "little" miracles of God in my life, through Jesus Christ.  He began to open His Word to me, which involved a whole series of what I can only term actual miracles from God.  At that point, I had a choice.  My philosophy did not fit the new information I was receiving, and so I could either reject the reality which was right before my eyes and receive God, or keep my philosophy.  Thanks to God I chose our Lord, or I might have ended up like these religious leaders, who went around threatening people who were happier than they were.

Verse 22.  "for the man was more than forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed."

I remain fascinated that this formerly crippled man was in his 40’s, when the miracle of healing occurred.  He had undoubtedly remained at the Beautiful Gate,begging (during the daytime), for at least 30-years, and maybe several more, depending on what kind of people were in charge of him.  How many times had he seen Jesus enter the Temple?  How often had he heard conversation from passersby about the wondrous healings that were happening in the land?  "And what, what about…..me?" he might well have thought.

And what about you?  Others are healed…..What about you?  The apostles did not just happen to use this gate on that particular day, and the Lord knew his need, all the time.  Yet, his healing was delayed, until this time.

Why the delay in your life?  (for we all need healing, one way or another).   I do not know, but God does – and the time and circumstances of this man’s healing, has spoken to me time-after-time.  When I think He has forgotten me, He has not.  There is a place and time, for you, for this man, and for me.

Verse 23.  "And when they had been released, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them."

Paul said we are to "speak the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15), and here were men who were now men of love, and they had learned to speak the truth.  They had become honest from their encounter with Christ and with His Holy Spirit, and now they were simply telling what they had seen and heard.  Many "scholars" assert the early Christians added and changed material (when writing Scripture) to make it sound better.  These disciples do not at all come across as that kind of people.   Actually, it is the scholars themselves who are trying to make the changes.  

The apostles, on being released, just reported what had happened – as did the human writers of Scripture.

Verse 24.  "And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, ‘O Lord, it is Thou who didst make the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them,’

They praised God.  We, of the last few hundred years, have tended to be embarrassed by praise, and mostly don’t act in such a manner.  You alone, or in a group of people, can do like these disciples, and cry out for joy, "God, You are the Creator of all that is!"  There is a childlike simplicity in praise, which often is simply a wondering acknowledgement of Who God is.  Note the unity in what they said and did – praise will do that.     Jesus prayed (John 17:21) that we might be "one" and the reason we often are not truly united as one, is that we do not have hearts which give praise to God.

Verse 25-26.   "who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Thy servant, said, ‘why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples devise futile things?’  The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ."

After reading any newspaper, you might wonder, "Why is there so much anger in the world?  The Holy Spirit gave the answer to David, thousands of years ago (these verses are a quote from Psalm 2:1-2).  Since David’s statement perfectly described the current situation for the disciples, it was quoted here.

Why are many of our leaders here in America, by the way, attempting to take God out of our land?  Is it for fairness and equal opportunity?  Not really. Actually, it’s just because they do not like the Lord God and His Christ.  Just like David said, quoted in this place and also quoted by Handel in the "Messiah,"  the "kings of the earth have taken their stand" against God.

It’s a nice idea that we try to elect "good people" as politicians.   The only problem with this as a continuing idea, is that it just won’t work.   It isn’t that "absolute power corrupts absolutely" as we have heard.   It’s that humans are corrupt as a people already, and the more power the person has, the more of this corruption comes to the surface.

Can we do nothing, then?  Yes, we can do a lot – Let’s pray for our religious and secular leaders – continually!   And remember, as C. S. Lewis said, "People last forever, but governments last only for a time."

Verse 27.  "For truly in this city there were gathered together against Thy holy servant Jesus, whom Thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,"

There is an actual animosity on the part of governments, many organized religions, and most theologians, against our Lord.   And there is a reason for this – salvation is all of Him. There is no good thing you can do, which will merit salvation from the perspective of God.  There is nothing you have done which is too terrible for the cross of Christ.  He paid it all.  He died for you, and for me, along with every person that ever lived on the face of this earth.  Oddly enough, we prefer a "salvation" we can earn by works of some kind; any kind, and that is because we want God to share at least some of the credit with us.

Nothing has changed.  Just as Herod and Pilate & Israel & Rome (all natural enemies in relation to one another, by the way) gathered together against our Lord, so it is today.  The leaders of this world hate our Lord, even more than they dislike each other.

Verse 28.  "to do whatever Thy hand and Thy purpose predestined to occur."

Now the good and surprising news.  When the enemies of our Lord gather together against Him, they end up doing exactly what He intended, even before they really thought about what they would do.  I think it’s fascinating that Jesus was "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Revelation 13:8).  His death for our sins was already in place at the point of "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1).

Here were Annas & Herod & Pilate, huffing and puffing, and wondering what to do. At some point, each of them decided to kill our Lord.  But it was already decided for them, and they just were mere dupes, unwittingly carrying out the Will of God for Him, and for you and for me.  And all was decided in eternity past, before any of them even existed.

Verse 29.  "And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Thy word with all confidence,"

If there is a characteristic most Christians lack, it’s boldness.  And when we have boldness, it’s often in our own strength and not in the power of God.   The apostles were asking for the power of God.  I think a key factor in proper boldness (or the lack of it), is prayer.  There were two elements in the prayer of this verse:

(1) They openly brought the scary guys to God.  That is, they were made afraid by the threats they had received, and brought their fear to Him in prayer.  These apostles really were afraid and took their fear where we should take ours – to the Lord.

(2) They asked God to fill the need.  Too often we become so afraid that we forget to ask.  You may be interested in a written prayer of mine about this verse, from March 1, 1995 (I write many of my prayers – it keeps me focused):  "Father, I certainly need confidence and boldness.  Please bring these to me – a sureness in what I do and say; in Jesus Name. Amen."  The fact you are reading these words is an indication that He is answering that prayer – for me.  Why not join me in a similar prayer – for you.  Father, forgive us our fear, and give us boldness that we may speak openly and in love, about You.  In Jesus Name. Amen.

If we trust in Him (Mark 11:24), He will answer that prayer.  You and I can together experience the wonder and joy of answered prayer.

Verse 30.  "while Thou dost extend Thy hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Thy holy servant Jesus."

Where are the miracles?  I remember a service at a church in Arizona, where the pastor encouraged us, inviting us to come forward for prayer, if we needed to be healed.   A little girl did go boldly to the front, and asked the elders to pray that she would not have to wear glasses anymore.  The elders looked embarrassed and concerned, but this was the only one who went forward (the rest of us watched with great interest), and so they all gathered around and prayed for her.  After a lot of enthusiastic prayer, nothing happened; all of them kind of shrugged, and the service ended.

Where are the miracles?  I don’t really know, but I do see that we have a world full of needy people – many need to be restored physically and all of us need to be brought to Christ.  I think we should pray, just as these men did:  Lord, there are so many that need to be healed in this world, and we pray that You will stretch out Your hand to heal.  We pray that signs and wonders will once again be done in our midst through the Name of Your Holy Servant, Jesus.  In His Name. Amen.

Verse 31.  "And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness."

I did not think of Billy Graham as an author, until I read his book, "The Holy Spirit" (a WONDERFUL book) which throws light on this verse.  Remember, those in this verse are the same ones who were very recently "all filled with the Holy Spirit" as reflected in Acts 2:4.  And in John 20:22, Jesus "breathed on some of the same people and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’"  Two things:  I do not think John 20:22 was some kind of "prediction" they would soon receive the Spirit, as some teach.   They actually received the Holy Spirit – right then.  Second, I agree with Dr. Graham’s conclusion that the whole Christian life and walk is a series of experiences where we periodically receive a fresh in-filling of the Holy Spirit.   That has been my experience over the last quarter century.  God seems to be here when I need Him most, with what is needed, and more.

Note that this new in-filling was the result of prayer.  The highest prayer you can offer is for more of Him, that you may offer more to those in need.  Jesus commanded us to love God, love one another – Note that in James 5:16, where the context is that we should "pray for one another", the response was "the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."  God will answer the prayer, offered in honest love.  If you want to love your brother but don’t really care for him very much, Go to God, who will give you more of Himself, that you may be surprised with "your" depth of love for your brother - in action, and not merely in words.

Verse 32.  "And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them."

Notice they received a direct answer to prayer (see verse 31) where they became able to speak the Word of God with increased boldness.  But also something very new happened to them.  They were immediately so increased in love, that they now regarded "their" property as belonging to anybody who was in need.  As it says in Psalms, God does own the "cattle on 1,000 hills" and that which we think is "ours," really is His.  Therefore, we should capture some of what these people were recognizing.  As God leads, we should each carefully consider that what is "mine" is not as important as the need of the person next to me.

Verse 33.  "And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all."

This is the "dynamite" power of God (the Greek word "dunamos", or "dunamei" is the root word for the English "dynamite) we long for, but often do not have.  We know the Lord died for our sins, and that He was raised from the dead.  Among those who loved Him - His resurrection, by the way, was a public event, in that He displayed Himself openly among them and let them His wounds, so they might believe.  There was no doubt among them, but still they lacked the power (dunamei) to effectively tell others about Him.  Probably just like you and me.

The difference is prayer (verse 24 & forward).  They wanted the power to speak about Him to others so much, that they started to pray.  Really pray.   And they did not stop praying for this until God answered.  Sometimes (Daniel 10:12-13 & context) the prayer is answered immediately but the enemy hinders our perception of that answer.  Whatever happens – pray!  If the answer is hindered – pray!  If you need to become more, in order to speak for God – pray!  And you will be, as in this verse, the effective witness for Christ you long to be, and will receive grace, as seen in the following verses.

Verse 34-35.  "For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales, and lay them at the apostles' feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need."

We lack trust.  I have been in the process of deciding, for a long, long time, that it is better to occasionally become foolish with our money, than it is to lack trust.  These people ran the risk, as to whether the apostles were honest or not, by giving them all they had.  I don’t recommend, as I look at the "televangelists" and other religious people who want our money, that we should trust in people to this extent.  But the issue is actually not to have faith in men, but to trust in God.  And, I do not think that the apostles were asking for the money – It was being voluntarily given, by people who loved God.

There is not doubt that God is calling us to give – our time, our money; resources.  Jesus told the disciples to be "wise as serpents, and innocent as doves" (Matthew 10:16), which is good, but it should be noted the context there is not about giving money – it’s about giving ourselves.  Jesus sent them on a mission, as each of us is eventually sent, and He was warning them that the leaders of this world are tricky, ruthless, and not to be trusted.  He told them well in advance of what happens to those who are sent.

Verse 36.  "And Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means, Son of Encouragement),"

This was the man who was to become the companion of Paul.  This was the one about whom it was spoken, he was "a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith" (Acts 11:24).  He was the one who sought Paul out (11:25) and brought him to Antioch.   He was also the one who later entered into contention with Paul, over one of their traveling companions, young John Mark (Acts 15:36 & forward), who was to write the Book of Mark.  Barnabas and Paul split up at that point.  But these were two good men, and behind the outward difference between them, was God, sending them in two directions, that twice as many might be saved.

Verse 37.  "and who owned a tract of land, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet."

Barnabas did what we should do – he put his faith into action.  It was on his heart to take what he owned, sell it, and give it to the work of the Lord.  This was not based on what the others were doing, or on what he thought he "ought" to do – this was his response to the leading of God.  And I think this should be our attitude.  We must learn to look to the Lord, and then trust Him enough to give as He leads.  I recommend that our giving should be the "first fruits" of our money.  The first bill we pay, before we buy the first food, before we spend anything else, we should give (as He leads) to the Lord.  Barnabas was that kind of man; so was Paul and the other apostles, and so should we be, as well.

Ron Beckham, Pastor
Friday Study Ministries
www.fridaystudy.org
Ron@fridaystudy.org