Nothing to Hide
Entering into Acts 4 we are continuing on the story from yesterday, if you recall, Peter and John had entered the temple, healed a man by the gate and ended up with a crowd around them giving Peter an opportunity to start preaching about Jesus. Acts 4 starts off with the priests and temple police coming and breaking up this meeting and arresting Peter and John, But here is the cool part, and should give you an idea of how large these crowds could get in the Temple, it says "But may of those who listened had already believed the message -- in round numbers about five thousand." (perhaps many were there when Jesus fed the 5000)
So this was no small meeting, this was several thousand people gathering around to hear what Peter and John had to say, A lot of these people would have been around and saw Jesus with their own eyes and many of them probably saw Peter and John with Jesus. The temple is still having it's tables flipped.
Acts 4 takes place about 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus, which occurred on the third day after his crucifixion. This timeline is established in the New Testament by the account of the ascension of Jesus, which took place 40 days after his resurrection (Acts 1:3) and 10 days before the events of Acts 2 (Acts 2:1-4).
Therefore, it can be concluded that the events of Acts 4 took place about 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus, during the early days of the spread of the gospel and the establishment of the early Christian church.
Here is a picture of what 5000 people looks like.
“The next day a meeting was called in Jerusalem. The rulers, religious leaders, religion scholars, Annas the Chief Priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander—everybody who was anybody was there. They stood Peter and John in the middle of the room and grilled them: “Who put you in charge here? What business do you have doing this?””
Acts 4:5-7 MSG
This is awesome, These guys are so mad that Peter and John can gain the attention of a huge crowd, not to mention they just put Jesus to death believing that this would solve their problems, They went through a lot of work to plan out how to have Jesus put to death, and now his followers are claiming he is alive and well and healing people and gather crowds just like Jesus had done.
Peter basically gives the same sermon he had the previous day before he was arrested, except this time it's now addressed to "everybody who was anybody", He is clearly not afraid of his message or the possible consequences of facing the same fate Jesus had (no fear there because if Jesus conquered death then their eternal fate is sealed and they have reassurance of that)
Peter states that it was in the name of Jesus christ of Nazareth, whom they killed that God rose from the dead is exactly how the man was healed. Probably not what they wanted to hear. . . He then tells them that Jesus was the stone the masons threw out which is now the cornerstone and that salvation comes no other way, by no other name than that of Jesus. The religious scholars would have known exactly what was being said by bringing up the cornerstone as it was prophesied in the old testament.
Isaiah 28:16: "So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: 'See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed.'"
Psalm 118:22: "The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone."
And as we continue on reading we will see that this subject is addressed more in the New Testament.
Ephesians 2:20 - "Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone."
1 Peter 2:6-7 - "For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”"
The story in acts continues, We see here that they couldn't take their eyes off of Peter and John because of how confidently they are preaching. What really stands out to them is that they were just ordinary Laymen and had no training, no previous jobs at public speakers, and here they are preaching to huge crowds with a completely healed man that they knew standing right there in front of them. What could they say against what was happening here?
This was also prophesied,
Isaiah 54:13 "All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children."
Jeremiah 31:34 "No longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the Lord."
Then something rather comical happens, They decide that maybe if they beat them up and tell them to stop that they will listen, Because crucifying Jesus wasn't enough of a threat to stop this new belief system of the fulfilment of their own religions predictions of a Messiah. And i absolutely love their response.
“They called them back and warned them that they were on no account ever again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John spoke right back, “Whether it’s right in God’s eyes to listen to you rather than to God, you decide. As for us, there’s no question—we can’t keep quiet about what we’ve seen and heard.” The religious leaders renewed their threats, but then released them. They couldn’t come up with a charge that would stick, that would keep them in jail. The people wouldn’t have stood for it—they were all praising God over what had happened. The man who had been miraculously healed was over forty years old.”
Acts 4:18-22 MSG
One Heart, One Mind
So after all this, they are released and they head to their friends to share what had happened. After hearing the report everyone breaks out in a song.
“As soon as Peter and John were let go, they went to their friends and told them what the high priests and religious leaders had said. Hearing the report, they lifted their voices in a wonderful harmony in prayer: “Strong God, you made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. By the Holy Spirit you spoke through the mouth of your servant and our father, David: Why the big noise, nations? Why the mean plots, peoples? Earth’s leaders push for position, Potentates meet for summit talks, The God-deniers, the Messiah-defiers!”
Acts 4:23-26 MSG
A potentate is a ruler or monarch who possesses great power and authority. The term is often used to refer to a sovereign who holds absolute power and is not bound by law or a constitution. Potentates have historically been leaders of empires, kingdoms, and other political entities, and they may be either hereditary or self-appointed.
““For in fact they did meet—Herod and Pontius Pilate with nations and peoples, even Israel itself!—met in this very city to plot against your holy Son Jesus, the One you made Messiah, to carry out the plans you long ago set in motion.”
Acts 4:27-28 MSG
Acts 4:27-28 MSG
The song enters into a Prayer for fearless confidence to preach God's message to the world and to multiply their healings and miracles and wonders done in the name of Jesus, Then the power of God shows up in a quake and the Holy Spirit comes and ignites the room!
Acts 4 finishes off with a description of how this early church group became united as one- one heart, one mind. It explains how they built a community where no one claimed possessions and how they shared everything and not one person among them was needy. People started to sell their land and houses and brought the money as an offering to the apostles.
The change in title from "disciples" to "apostles" is a reflection of their new role and responsibilities as messengers of Jesus after his ascension. The term "apostle" comes from the Greek word "apostolos" which means "one who is sent." In the New Testament, the apostles are often referred to as the "12 apostles" or "the twelve." The selection of Matthias as the twelfth apostle is recorded in Acts 1:26. However, Paul, who was not one of the original twelve, is referred to as an apostle in several passages, such as Romans 1:1 and 1 Corinthians 1:1. The appointment of the apostles and their commissioning by Jesus is recorded in the gospels, particularly in Matthew 10:1-4 and Mark 3:13-19.
The role of apostles in the early Christian Church is not universally defined and interpretations vary among different Christian denominations. Some denominations believe that the office of apostle has passed away and is no longer applicable, while others believe that the office of apostle continues to exist, either as an ongoing office in the Church or as a special calling for certain individuals. The concept of apostleship and its continuation is a matter of theological interpretation and belief.
“And so it turned out that not a person among them was needy. Those who owned fields or houses sold them and brought the price of the sale to the apostles and made an offering of it. The apostles then distributed it according to each person’s need.”
Acts 4:34-35 MSG
The chapter finishes off with Joseph, a Levite born in Cyprus, who sold a field and brought the money to the apostles and an offering. This will lead us into the very bizarre and troubling even that takes place in Acts 5 - Ananias and Sapphira.
Genesis 25
The beginning of this chapter is very strange. Abraham remarried after Sarah dies, He marries a woman named Keturah and has 6 kids with her, Then it explains that he sent them all away to the country of the east, putting a good distance between them and his son Isaac. Most likely to keep Isaac "Holy" for the promise given about him specifically by God.
It then goes on to say that Abraham died at 175 years of age and was buried in the same field he had bought yesterday for Sarah, and that the was buried next to her.
It then gives us information about what happened with Ishmael and his sons, listing a genealogy and geographic information about where they had gone and settled down. Ishmael lived 137 years. It is also mentioned in here that the Ishmaelites didn't get along with any of their kin.
Jacob and Esau
The story continues but now with Isaacs genealogy.
“This is the family tree of Isaac son of Abraham: Abraham had Isaac. Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan Aram. She was the sister of Laban the Aramean.”
Genesis 25:19-20 MSG
This is really fun to watch play out, So according to the story, Rebekah was barren (there is a theme here with being barren. . .) and Isaac prays hard to God asking for kids! I can imagine that Isaac was well aware of the covenant and promise of a great nation through his blood line and was probably confused as to why his chosen wife, as we learned earlier that God has seemed to play a huge role in orchestrating was not getting pregnant. As the story unfolds we see that God blesses Rebekah with twins, They began to wrestle inside her and she brings this concern to God who then responds - "Two nations are in your womb, two peoples butting heads while still in your body. One people will overpower the other, and the older will serve the younger."
(The theme of being barren is echoed throughout the Old Testament and New Testament.
Some examples in the Old Testament include:
Rebekah, who was barren before having twin boys, Jacob and Esau (Genesis 25:21)
Rachel, who was barren before giving birth to Joseph (Genesis 30:1)
Manoah's wife, who was barren before having a son, Samson (Judges 13:2)
In the New Testament, the theme of being barren continues with:
Elizabeth, who was barren before giving birth to John the Baptist (Luke 1:7)
Anna, who was a widow for many years before speaking about Jesus in the temple (Luke 2:36-38)
----
“When her time to give birth came, sure enough, there were twins in her womb. The first came out reddish, as if snugly wrapped in a hairy blanket; they named him Esau (Hairy). His brother followed, his fist clutched tight to Esau’s heel; they named him Jacob (Heel). Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.”
Genesis 25:24-26 MSG
From the time of getting married to the time of having these twins was 20 years, So Issac had to wait 20 years for his promised children, if we recall Abraham waited 25 years for Issac.
(There is also a theme of waiting in the bible.
Abraham and Sarah - waited for the promise of a son (Genesis 15:2-3, Genesis 21:1-2)
Jacob - waited for the promise of descendants (Genesis 28:15)
Joseph - waited for fulfillment of dreams and restoration (Genesis 37:5-11)
Moses - waited for God to use him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt (Exodus 3:10)
David - waited to be crowned king of Israel (1 Samuel 16:13)
Hannah - waited for a son (1 Samuel 1:11)
Elizabeth and Zechariah - waited for the birth of John the Baptist (Luke 1:5-25)
The story continues, as the boys grew up Esau became a great hunter and outdoorsman while Jacob was a quite reserved indoor type guy, This caused division amongst the parents, Issac loved Esau because of the food he brought home while Rebekah loved Jacob, probably because he was a momma's boy.
The birthright in Genesis 25 refers to the right to inherit a certain portion of the family estate and receive special privileges, such as the ability to bless or lead the family. In the case of Abraham's sons, the birthright was given to Isaac, despite the fact that Ishmael was born first. This act of giving the birthright to Isaac, rather than Ishmael, is significant because it foreshadows God's plan to establish the lineage of Jesus through Isaac, rather than through Ishmael.
Birthrights looked very different in ancient times that it would today, it is full rights to the covenant with God, who gets to take over the estate, animals, land, patriarchy of the entire family. This was no small thing that takes place here in Genesis 25. lets watch what happens.
“One day Jacob was cooking a stew. Esau came in from the field, starved. Esau said to Jacob, “Give me some of that red stew—I’m starved!” That’s how he came to be called Edom (Red). Jacob said, “Make me a trade: my stew for your rights as the firstborn.” Esau said, “I’m starving! What good is a birthright if I’m dead?” Jacob said, “First, swear to me.” And he did it. On oath Esau traded away his rights as the firstborn. Jacob gave him bread and the stew of lentils. He ate and drank, got up and left. That’s how Esau shrugged off his rights as the firstborn. * * *”
Genesis 25:29-34 MSG
There is a lot to unpack here. . . there are lots of very interesting sermons on this specific incident. i recommend spending some time listening to a few.
Genesis 26
The next chapter switches gear and we are informed of a really bad famine, one that is as bad as the one during the time of Abraham.
“There was a famine in the land, as bad as the famine during the time of Abraham. And Isaac went down to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, in Gerar. God appeared to him and said, “Don’t go down to Egypt; stay where I tell you. Stay here in this land and I’ll be with you and bless you. I’m giving you and your children all these lands, fulfilling the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. I’ll make your descendants as many as the stars in the sky and give them all these lands. All the nations of the Earth will get a blessing for themselves through your descendants. And why? Because Abraham obeyed my summons and kept my charge—my commands, my guidelines, my teachings.””
Genesis 26:1-5 MSG
Here we see God telling Isaac exactly what to do and reminding him of the promises made to Abraham about his descendants and that he should also obey as his father did before him.
We also see Isaac following in his dad's footsteps by being afraid to claim his wife as his wife . .
“The men of the place questioned him about his wife. He said, “She’s my sister.” He was afraid to say “She’s my wife.” He was thinking, “These men might kill me to get Rebekah, she’s so beautiful.””
Genesis 26:7 MSG
There is this speculation that marriage was not held in high regard in the ancient world, Because you see things like polygamy and these men taking on maid servants and concubines, it's a very interesting analysis to take the time and try and digest. but just as we saw with abraham we now see with Isaac, where the very real threat of guilt for sleeping with another mans wife was prominent even in these times before mosaic law. (marriage is not a christian institution as is the argument you will hear today, it existed before Judaism and in all cultures, it was established by God in the creation.
“Abimelech said, “But think of what you might have done to us! Given a little more time, one of the men might have slept with your wife; you would have been responsible for bringing guilt down on us.” Then Abimelech gave orders to his people: “Anyone who so much as lays a hand on this man or his wife dies.””
Genesis 26:10-11 MSG
So Isaac is now dwelling in this land (the promised land) as God had commanded him, and God blesses him to becoming very wealthy in this land, to the point that the other nations around him take notice and start trying to sabotage his wealth by filling in his wells with dirt and debris. Abimelech tells Isaac that he has to leave because he has become too large.
So Isaac moves to the valley of Gerar, redigs all the wells that his father had dug and re establishes the names his father had given them, Pay attention to this because these wells show up again later in the story. especially Beersheba because that's where Jesus met with the samaritan woman.
After resolving some disputes over land and water rights God appeared to Isaac and said "I am the God of Abraham your father; don’t fear a thing because I’m with you. I’ll bless you and make your children flourish because of Abraham my servant.”
Genesis 26:19-24 MSG
“Isaac built an altar there and prayed, calling on God by name. He pitched his tent and his servants started digging another well.”
Genesis 26:25 MSG
Then some interesting things happen, Abimelech, who had just asked him to leave shows up to his camp.
“Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his advisor and Phicol the head of his troops. Isaac asked them, “Why did you come to me? You hate me; you threw me out of your country.””
Genesis 26:26-27 MSG
They end up making a treaty, Abimelech realized that Gods blessing on the land moved with Isaac and wanted to establish a covenant of peace between them.
“Later that same day, Isaac’s servants came to him with news about the well they had been digging, “We’ve struck water!” Isaac named the well Sheba (Oath), and that’s the name of the city, Beersheba (Oath-Well), to this day.”
Genesis 26:32-33 MSG
So, Abraham and Issac put a lot of effort into keeping the bloodline clean, not intermixing with the surrounding nations. At the end of this chapter we get this little nugget.
“When Esau was forty years old he married Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite. They turned out to be thorns in the sides of Isaac and Rebekah. * * *”
Genesis 26:34-35 MSG
It seems that if you watch the marriage choices throughout the story of the Israelites you will see this happen again where someone marries or intermingles with someone outside the Israelite bloodline and it causes problems. Samson will be a great example of this.
Psalms 32
What a beautiful Psalms to pray through! It starts out with counting your blessings on how we get a fresh start with God, a clean slate. That God holds nothing against us and we don't have to hold anything back from God. The psalmist gives a beautiful example of the experience of holding onto our sin and then releasing it to God in confession and repentance.
“When I kept it all inside, my bones turned to powder, my words became daylong groans. The pressure never let up; all the juices of my life dried up. Then I let it all out; I said, “I’ll come clean about my failures to God.” Suddenly the pressure was gone— my guilt dissolved, my sin disappeared.”
Psalms 32:3-5 MSG
The Psalmist lays out that by being stubborn and hard hearted only leads to trouble and that by turning our hearts to God we find ourself affirmed and loved always free to turn back to God!
““Don’t be ornery like a horse or mule that needs bit and bridle to stay on track.” God-defiers are always in trouble; God-affirmers find themselves loved every time they turn around. Celebrate God. Sing together—everyone! All you honest hearts, raise the roof!”
Psalms 32:9-11 MSG
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