Acts 4:1 - Meaning and Application

Here we see the kingdom of heaven moving ahead successfully, while the powers of darkness rise up against it to try to stop it. No matter how determined Christ’s servants are, Satan’s agents will be hostile. And no matter how hostile Satan’s agents are, Christ’s servants should stay firm.

Peter and John kept doing their work, and they did not labor in vain. The Spirit enabled the ministers to do their part, and the people to do theirs. The apostles faithfully taught Christ’s message. They spoke to the people, to everyone who could hear them (Acts 4:1). What they said mattered to all of them, so they spoke it openly and in public.

They taught the people and kept teaching knowledge. They taught those who did not yet believe, so they might be convicted and converted, and they taught those who already believed, so they might be comforted and strengthened. They preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. This truth was shown in Jesus himself: they proved that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead, as the first and chief one who would rise from the dead (Acts 26:23). They preached Christ’s resurrection as the basis for all they did.

Or, the resurrection from the dead is secured by Christ for all believers. It includes all the blessing and joy of the life to come. They preached that this comes through Jesus Christ, can be reached through him (Philippians 3:10-11), and through him alone. They did not get involved in matters of state. They stayed with their calling and preached heaven as the goal, and Christ as the way. See also (Acts 17:18).

The hearers received the message gladly (Acts 4:4). Many who heard the word believed, though not all, and perhaps not even most. Still, about five thousand believed, in addition to the three thousand mentioned before. See how the gospel kept gaining ground, and how this was the result of the Spirit being poured out. Even though the preachers were being opposed, the word kept spreading. Sometimes the church’s days of suffering are also her days of growth. That was true in the church’s early days.

The chief priests and their party then rose up against the apostles and did all they could to crush them. Their hands had been tied for a time, but their hearts had not changed at all. Notice, first, who stood against the apostles. The priests were among them, and you can be sure they were at the front. They had always been enemies of Christ and his gospel. They were as jealous for their priesthood as Caesar was for his monarchy, and they would not tolerate someone they saw as a rival, whether he was preached as a priest or had preached himself as a prophet.

The captain of the temple joined them. He is thought to have been a Roman officer, the commander of the guard stationed in the tower of Antonia to watch over the temple. So Jews and Gentiles were still united against Christ. The Sadducees, who denied spirits and the future life, were also eager against the apostles. As Mr. Baxter said, people might wonder what could make such animal-like men as the Sadducees were so angry about others being silenced and persecuted. If there is no life to come, why should other people’s hope of it hurt them? But in sinful hearts, every part is spoiled. A blind man can still have a hateful heart and a cruel hand, even today.

Notice, next, how they felt about the apostles’ preaching. They were upset that the apostles taught the people (Acts 4:2). It bothered them that the gospel was being preached, and preached so openly and boldly, and that the people were so ready to hear it. They had thought that after Christ was put to such a shameful death, his disciples would always be ashamed and afraid to admit him, and the people would never accept his teaching. Instead, it angered them to see their hopes fail and his gospel gain ground rather than lose it. “The wicked will see it and be grieved” (Psalm 112:10). They were grieved by what they should have rejoiced in, just as the angels rejoice in it. It is a miserable state for anyone to feel grief over the glory of Christ’s kingdom, because that glory will last forever, and their grief will too.

It also grieved them that the apostles preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. The Sadducees were upset because the resurrection itself was being preached, since they opposed that doctrine and could not bear to hear of a future life, especially when it was so clearly supported. The chief priests were upset that it was preached through Jesus, because they did not want him to have the honor of it. Even though they claimed to believe in the resurrection against the Sadducees, they would rather give up that great truth than have it preached and proved through Jesus.

Finally, notice how far they went against the apostles (Acts 4:3). They laid hands on them, meaning their servants and officers did so under their command, and put them in custody. They held them until the next day, under the proper officer’s care. They could not question them then because it was evening, but they were unwilling to wait longer than the next day. See how God trains his servants for suffering little by little, preparing them for greater trials by lesser ones. At this point they were opposed only with imprisonment, but later they would face bloodshed.