Acts - Lesson 13

A deaconal (as Boice uses the word) or servant ministry is an attitude that doesn’t say, “Lord you can’t wash my feet” but rather says “Lord let me wash their feet”. As we study the speech that Stephen, full of grace and power, delivered there are some aspects that are conspicuous because of their absence. Even in his speech before a crowd that was not going to listen and was extraordinarily hostile, Stephen washes the feet of the Apostles. He bears the anger of the crowd without ever saying, “Well I’m just saying what the Apostles said so go ask Peter.” He witnesses to the role of Christ as the Messiah or Holy One but doesn’t pass responsibility for the message to anyone but God. He recognized the truth of God and so he didn’t need to bring any man into it. He was faithful to “wash feet” rather than to just watch the Apostles wash feet. He was here doing the heavy lifting.

After Abraham, Stephen uses Joseph as an illustration of Christ. Stephen draws that parallel to illustrate that Joseph was abused by the patriarchs and Christ was abused by the current generation. Then he moves on to Moses as an illustration.

Acts 7:17-22 … “But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph. He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive. At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God’s sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father’s house, and when he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.

God’s providence in the birth of a child gave them Moses in a time when the children were being killed. God’s providence in the birth of a child gave them Jesus in a time when the children were being killed. Moses was well qualified to be a leader of the Jews but it didn’t work out because the people were rebellious and violent.

Acts 7:23-29 ... “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’ But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.

So here we see the Lord’s anointed thrust aside. At the time, Moses didn’t understand what God would do with his life but the men listening to Stephen were hearing about the sinful rebellious attitude of their fathers. Moses was the leadership that God had said was beautiful in His sight and who was trained and powerful in word and deed. Those in slavery were too blind to see their deliverer when he was standing in front of them.

Acts 7:30-34 … “Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’

As Stephen builds the picture of Christ, it is important to see that God the Father sent Moses and God the Father sent Jesus. God saw the affliction of His people in bondage and He delivered them. Because the Messiah was so central to the thinking of the common man and woman (remember the woman at the well?) of the day, and because Christ claimed to be Christ, these points were burning their way into the brains of those listening.

Stephen also makes a point that would have connected with the Jewish Leadership when he quotes Scripture indicating that a mountain in the wilderness was holy. They had the Temple and believed it was holy but you can’t box God in or fence Him in. Only by grace do we have access to all that the Holy Spirit brings. We can’t force His hand and when He “lifts” then we begin to see (if His grace permits) just how impoverished we are in all our efforts.

Acts 7:35-38 “This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.’ This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us.

The man they had rejected freed them. He performed signs and wonders. Moses even prophesied that God would send Christ as a “prophet like me from your brothers” and give living oracles or revelation that brings life to the hearer. The psalms are full of thanksgiving for the Words from God. Even the first psalm says that God’s Word gives life.

Acts 7:39-43 … Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt, saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: “‘Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices, during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? You took up the tent of Moloch and the star of your god Rephan, the images that you made to worship; and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.’

This shows that the prophecy of Amos 5 points out the way in which they made themselves liable for God’s judgment. They had a tendency toward idolatry and have loved idols rather than God. They have again rejected the one that God sent. We tend to rejoice in the works of our hands and believe that those things of our creation will go before us and ensure success. As we attribute our success and joy to the works of our hands we commit idolatry. Stephen keeps driving home the point that where the Spirit is by definition holy and the Jews think they have Him in the Most Holy Place in a literal box. Their tradition is that God is in a box in Jerusalem but it doesn’t fit the facts.

Acts 7:44-50 … “Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. Our fathers in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers. So it was until the days of David, who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. But it was Solomon who built a house for him. Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says, “‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? Did not my hand make all these things?’

The tent of witness was in the wilderness and not Jerusalem. Once again, holy existed where God was. They didn’t even have the temple until God gave David’s son Solomon permission to build this place to worship. But Stephen points out that God doesn’t live in a house made by hands. The original charges against Stephen (vs 13) were that “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law.” Stephen has shown by biblical history that a Holy place is where God is. So the Temple isn’t necessarily holy. The Temple is only holy if God is present. Those who had this great affection for the Temple as a result (apparently) of separation from the Temple in other lands had in essence turned it into an idol. Even the law can be an idol if your lack of understanding leads you to reject the Messiah. Even the law giver Moses was rejected by the nation.

Acts 7: 51-53 … “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.”

Well in our day we’ve heard about “seeker sensitive” presentations. However, Jesus didn’t use them and neither did Stephen. He is glowing with the Holy Spirit. He is radiant and he summarizes explicitly what he proved implicitly using biblical history. The listeners are uncircumcised in heart and ears, they resist God like their ancestors, they killed the Messiah just like their father’s killed the prophets, and they had the law but didn’t keep it. Conviction of sin in a reprobate heart does not yield a pretty product. As we share the Gospel we don’t worry about that but remember that a wise man’s eyes are in his head and we can recognize what is happening around us.

Acts 7:54 … Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him.

The crowd really did understand what Stephen had said and they were enraged by what he had said. They couldn’t really argue because all he had done was repeat history. Stephen had a remarkable grasp of the relationship of Old Testament prophecy and history to Jesus. The examples of Abraham, Joseph, and Moses were great examples and his exposition of the history was tremendous. When your read what Stephen said then you are encouraged to read and digest the Old Testament.  

Acts 7:55-56 … But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

Stephen is glowing with the Holy Spirit and God opens up his eyes and he sees Jesus, standing rather than sitting, at the right hand of God. Jesus is standing! Scripture often says that Jesus is seated at the right hand of God (Ephesians 1:20, 2:6; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 8:1; 12:2) and interceding for us but here He is standing to receive the first martyr. I’m sure He was also standing in special intercession for Stephen the first of many martyrs. This deacon goes to martyrdom before the apostles do while literally radiant – on fire – with the Holy Spirit.

Acts 7:57-60 … But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

The conviction was so great that the mob cried out and stopped up their ears as they rushed him. He was stoned while the young man named Saul looked on. Luke knew Saul really well and would record the history of his conversion and ministry. I noticed something the other day about what Paul said. He said, in his testimony, that, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen” (1 Timothy 1:15–17). Stephen prays for Saul under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. God has Stephen praying for Saul before he is Paul when he is, by his own words, the foremost sinner. I remember from time to time thinking that Paul’s statement was hyperbole. Paul, in Scripture, corrects my way of thinking. It is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance that Paul was the foremost sinner of his day. His heart was stone cold dead. But God, who is rich in mercy, gave Paul to us as an example to encourage us to pray for the lost. And he gave us Stephen to remind us who we are to be in Christ and to remind us to pray so that things will be different than they otherwise would be.

Acts - Lesson 12

The Church was growing but not without some struggles. Things were not perfect and the Apostles had challenges.

Acts 6:1-7 … Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

As a result of a problem with the distribution of care to the Greek Jewish widows and the local Jewish widows the Apostles need to make a change. They needed men to make sure that the distribution was fair. The Greek Jews were viewed as outsiders by the locals and apparently at least thought they were not being treated fairly.

Note that the Apostles were 12 in number and remember that includes the Apostle Matthias who replaced Judas.  

These are the first deacons. The word for “distribution” in “daily distribution” is διακονία [diakonia, noun] and the word for serve in “serve tables” is διακονέω [diakoneo, verb]. So these guys were the servants or deacons. The root may have come from a word meaning to run errands like a “gopher” in our language. They were in positions of responsibility in the role of servants taking over something that the Apostles simply didn’t have the calling to supervise.

  1.      Stephen. Luke says he was a man “full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.” We will see him again in this and the next chapter.

  2.      Philip. We will see him again in Acts 8. Later in the book he is called an “evangelist” (Acts 21:8), the only person in Acts to be so named.

  3.      Procorus. We know nothing more about Procorus from the Bible, but tradition says he became a bishop of Nicomedia and was martyred at Antioch.

  4.      Nicanor. We know nothing about this man from the New Testament.

  5.      Timon. Nor of Timon.

  6.      Parmenas. Nor of Parmenas.

  7.      Nicolas. He was from Antioch and had been a convert to Judaism.

They were elected by the Church and they were ordained by the laying on of hands of the leadership and the Church was blessed and continued to grow. These guys were very active and some will show up again later. For example, Stephen appears in the next chapter of Acts and Philip ministers to the Ethiopian Eunuch in Chapter 8.

I like the way in which the Apostles describe the problem and the solution. They say that they can’t serve tables but they will serve the Word. They can’t deacon the tables but they will deacon the Word. And this pleased the whole gathering. We see two general areas of ministry or service and that is in the Word including prayer as well as service to people’s physical needs.

Boice identifies so principles of Church leadership in these verses.

1)    Division of Responsibility (by spiritual gifting)

2)    Plurality of Leadership (elders and bishops … plural, not singular in Scripture)

3)    Spiritual Qualifications (Lead by the Holy Spirit and with mature wisdom)

4)    Deaconal (Servant) Ministry (an attitude that doesn’t say, “Lord you can’t wash my feet” but rather says “Lord let me wash their feet”

Acts 6:8-10 … And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.

Here is a deacon, under the anointing of the Holy Spirit ministering with power and irritating those who were opposed to Christianity. The “freedmen” were Jews freed from slavery in Cyrene in North Africa, then Cilicia was Asia Minor (North Western Turkey) and included Paul’s hometown of Tarsus, and Asia (Western Turkey). It is interesting that those individuals were not from Jerusalem and they decided to oppose Stephen. Perhaps with the conversion of a great many of the priests in 6:7 these Jews from outside Jerusalem felt threatened in a home that was not as they had imagined it. However, Stephen had the wisdom and the Holy Spirit so they were ineffective in arguing with him.

Acts 6:11-15 … Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.” And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

When they couldn’t survive a discussion with Stephen they redirected their efforts towards stirring up the unsaved in Jerusalem by spreading lies about Stephen. Then they used false witnesses as he was taken before the council. Think of trying to teach Scripture or preach the Gospel without addressing the futility of temple sacrifices and the ritual law. While we don’t know exactly what Stephen taught or preached day by day we do know that Jesus had said he would destroy the Temple. The clock was ticking on that. This may have been the root of the foreign Jew’s problem with Christianity. They had been separated from the Temple for so long that they really bristled up at the idea of the Temple as a shadow and that Jesus, as the living Temple, had walked on earth and fulfilled prophecy.

In any case, they worked secretly because they couldn’t face him directly and they were distorting his views. And in the mean time, the Holy Spirit was making his face glow like an angel. God was pouring grace out on this man in this moment.

Stephen’s speech is quite different from what we’ve read previously.

First, he doesn’t defend himself. It really doesn’t address the charges against him. Peter went after the charges but Stephen, under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, addresses the Jews. In a way he prepares us for the transition to the Gentiles in his extended presentation to the Jews.

Second, he doesn’t really quote very much Scripture. Peter was quoting and explaining. Stephen mostly does a biblical history of the Jews and confronts them with their sins.

Thirdly, while Peter preached about Jesus from beginning to end, Stephen, addressing these Jews, presents their history, and then mentions Jesus as “the Righteous One” only at the end. On Peter’s day, everyone was getting saved (Acts 3:26) but on Stephen’s day, these guys were not getting saved and they were heaping up sins for the day of God’s judgment. Both Peter and Stephen shared what needed to be shared. Both gave the right message at the right time but the Holy Spirits purposes differed.

Acts 7:1-7 … And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” And Stephen said: “Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot’s length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child. And God spoke to this effect—that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years. ‘But I will judge the nation that they serve,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.’

You can see here how historical Stephen is going to be. He wants to drive home the blessed position that the Jews have in history as a result of a long line of God’s gracious promises manifested in godly men. Abraham had the promise but he was a sojourner in that way similar to Jesus. The audience that Stephen was addressing should have been the fulfillment of God’s promises. They were supposed to be worshiping God in this place as a result of God’s mercy in taking them out of Egypt. But they should not have settled for temporal blessings.

Abraham had the grace to trust God’s word. The Book of Hebrews says, “By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God (Hebrews 11:9–10).” Abraham looked forward to God’s fulfillment and these guys were convicted because they were fighting against God’s fulfillment and for the old Temple. We should never let the blessings of this world take our eyes off of God’s promise.

Acts 7:8-16 … And he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs. “And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh. And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all. And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers, and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

Joseph is an illustration of Christ in the Old Testament and these Jews hearing with Jewish ears are hearing of the sins of the patriarchs and knowing that Stephen is drawing a parallel. Joseph was abused by the patriarchs. They abused Christ. Joseph saved the patriarchs from a throne and now salvation is in Christ in His throne. The patriarchs died believing that God would fulfill His promises so they were not buried in Egypt. Stephen was preaching to a crowd of angry Jews and these points were hitting home. Abraham’s faithful sojourning in the Promised Land and his faithfulness in looking forward to God’s promises being fulfilled were convicting. They had rejected the promise. Like the patriarchs had tried to eliminate Joseph and found him to be the savior, they had tried to eliminate Jesus and now He is being proclaimed as savior.

When I was at the University of Arizona I took a class in historical speeches because I didn’t like public speaking and I needed another speech credit to graduate. The instructor was funny but made fun of preaching styles by imitating sort of a backwoods preacher off and on during the semester. So our last assignment was to pick a speech and write a term paper on it. I had put up with this guy all semester so I picked Stephen’s speech and tried to address the questions we were supposed to answer for the paper. It seemed to unhinge the instructor. I only saw him once more at the final. He ran in and ran out. He said he didn’t know how to grade my paper because – since the speech was found in the Book of Books – it was already judged to be good so how could we judge it. That was some answer from a smart-alecky instructor who had made fun of preachers for a semester. Conviction by the Holy Spirit is a good thing but it doesn’t produce a pretty sight in the lives of unregenerate men.

Acts - Lesson 11

We ended last week with the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira. As we discussed last week, although they were subject to God’s judgment, they were presumably Christians. So we’ll likely see them someday. However, they will not be in heaven as examples and eternally embarrassed by their failure to honor God and their attempt to lie to God. Rather, like us, they will be in heaven rejoicing at the grace of God in their lives. The grace required to save the best of us is not significantly less than the grace required to save the worst of us. It is all amazing grace and the secret of “he who is forgiven little loves little” (Luke 7:47) is to realize, like the Pharisee, that your sins are as serious as the woman who knows she is a sinner is repenting with tears. In short, you’ll find God’s grace to be as great in your life as we can see it was in the lives of Ananias and Sapphira.

Acts 5:11 … And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.

The death of Ananias and Sapphira resulted in fear both within the Church and outside the Church. In this verse we have the first use of the word “church” in Acts and the word means the gathered community or fellowship. When Jesus used the word a couple of times prophetically then the disciples would likely have related to the word as the Congregation of Israel and not the Church in a New Testament sense.   

Acts 5:12-16 … Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico. None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

So those who were the ekklesia, the called out, were added to the Lord in multitudes but none of “the rest” would join. In other words, none of the Jewish leadership would join but the Holy Spirit was bringing large numbers of the people into the Church.

God continued to confirm the ministry of the Apostles using signs and wonders. They were still gathering in Solomon’s Porch to the east of the Temple where Jesus had taught in Jerusalem and it was the sight of the first sermon by Peter outside the “Upper Room” at the occasion of the healing of the man born lame.

Remember that Jesus promised that His disciples would do greater miracles than He did. Here is one example as Peter’s shadow was used by God to heal the sick. Jesus said in John 14:12 … “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.”

Luke will alternate between pictures of the interaction of the Church with the world and the life of the Church in fellowship and worship. It is a blessing to us to have this balance so that we can see how to relate to a hostile government as well as how to relate to brothers and sisters within the Church.

Acts 5:17-21a … But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.

This jealousy in the Jewish leadership was the result of God saving so many people so quickly. It also aggravated in the Sadducees because they didn’t believe in a resurrection. So the preaching of the resurrection of Christ and His promise to resurrect His followers was especially irritating to the Sadducees.

In this particular prison break, the angel opened locked doors and brought them past their guards who were apparently awake but unaware. Luke doesn’t tell us exactly how that happened and I suspect that the apostles were not really clear on the way the angel did that. However, the apostles did what the angel said and went to the temple and started teaching the Gospel at daybreak.

Acts 5:21b-26 … Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported, “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.” Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to. And someone came and told them, “Look! The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.” Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.

You can see that God took them from the prison without anyone in authority being aware of their escape. When they were missing the authorities didn’t know what to do or where to look until someone came and told them that the apostles were teaching in the temple again. The authorities were moving carefully because they could have a riot if they acted to forcefully.

Acts 5:27-32 … And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

The first accusation of the high priest was simply something that the apostles couldn’t do. They were obliged to practice civil disobedience to remain obedient to God but they did it in humility. The second accusation was true. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the Gospel was beginning to spread even outside Jerusalem by word of mouth and people were even bringing the sick into Jerusalem from the surrounding area for healing (as we saw in verse 16 of this chapter). The third accusation is a foolish point because the authorities chose to have Jesus blood on their hands.

Matthew 27:24-25 … So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”

This is only 2 months later and, as the Church was growing and the crowd was changing, the leadership didn’t want blame. They were so sure in their sin that they called for Jesus’ blood on themselves and their children but Ezekiel’s prophecy showed that they couldn’t call for that. God, anticipating the depth of their sin, had Ezekiel prophecy that the descendants do not share the guilt of their parents unless they cooperate in their sins (Ezek. 18:20). The soul that sins shall die except for repentance and the atonement of Christ.

The focus of the apostles at this point was the heart of the Gospel. You can distinguish two Greek words for the teaching we get from the Apostles. First there is “didache” (διδαχή) which means teaching. Much of what Jesus shares in, for example, the Sermon on the Mount is didactic in nature and tells us how to live. The epistles are also largely focused on this sort of teaching. However, notice that Peter’s Gospel presentations are tailored toward preaching what the kerygma (κήρυγμα) or Gospel facts.

1)    The crucifixion (v. 30)

2)    The resurrection (v. 30)

3)    The ascension (v. 31)

4)    The witnesses (v. 32)

The object being to convert individuals and then teach those with new hearts how to live rather than trying to teach those with dead hearts how to live. It is pretty much common sense but you know how uncommon it is to find common sense these days. So Peter didn’t tell the Sadducees to follow the golden rule. He told them to repent and come to Jesus for cleansing from their sins.

In discussing the “witnesses” then Peter points out the core of effective preaching and that is Peter as an Apostle is a witness but so is the Holy Spirit on the other end. Peter is broadcasting and the Holy Spirit is turning hearts to God. Then they get some help from Gamaliel.

Acts 5:33-39 … When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice,

Gamaliel’s advice was godly as far as it went. Gamaliel had been Saul/Paul’s teacher and may have still been his teacher at this point. Of course Paul was of the “kill them all now” camp rather than Gamaliel’s wait and see camp.

Gamaliel asked for a closed session of the council and then wisely said that they were either struggling with nothing or with God. He should have gone farther in his council. He should have asked the hard questions about Jesus and the atoning sacrifice of Isaiah and all the other prophets.

The council should have been able to determine that they were, in fact, opposing God. They had heard the preaching or kerygma but without the regeneration of the Holy Spirit they just continued on their way. However, on this particular day, God used Paul’s teacher Gamaliel to free the apostles.

Acts 5:40-42 … and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.

It is frightening to see the actions of people who are darkened in their understanding. These religious leaders were guilty of Jesus’ blood. Then they beat those who came proclaiming the Gospel and told them not to use the name that is above every name. 

Philippians 2:8-11 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

That is the name that the religious leaders rejected. Here in the Book of Philippians, Paul is preaching (the Kerygma). This is the proclamation. Just like Peter’s use of proclamation to this council. Paul goes on in two steps of application.

First, therefore, because of the kerygma here is the didache;

Philippians 2:12-13 … Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

And what does that look like? Do this …

Philippians 2:14-16 … Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. 

Do what the angel said in Acts 5:21 and preach all the words of this life.

Acts - Lesson 10

Towards the end last week, I noted that one of the phrases that we throw around pretty freely is that “Jesus is Lord” and that we sometimes say it without thinking of the meaning. If Jesus is my Lord then He has all authority and rule in my life. I answer to Him for all my life and all the resources that He has given me. If I forget that I’m a steward then I’m headed for correction from the Father. It may be painful but it is still an act of grace – unmerited favor and undeserved blessing – in my life.

As a reminder, the four things we look for (i.e., desperately need) from the Holy Spirit are:

1)    Power – freedom to speak and teach the Gospel with impact,

2)    Holiness – changed lives that leave sin and desire God with true repentance,

3)    Revelation – a clarity of understanding of Scripture, and

4)    Unity – preferring others and sharing with one another in the work of the Church.

In previous weeks we’ve especially seen power, holiness, and revelation in the preaching of Peter. This week we start with a clear view of the power of the Holy Spirit to bring unity.

Acts 4:32-37 … Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Some folks look at this behavior as if it were a form of socialism but it was what happens when the Holy Spirit moves and people simply give out of their excess to those in the body who have needs. Luke makes it clear that this was not a special group of people but that it was a special move of God. Luke says, “great grace was upon them all” and this means that these actions were gifts and not works of their own merit. You can grieve the Holy Spirit in the midst of this sort of move of God but you can’t manufacture this sort of move of God.

This is an answer to the prayers of Jesus and, in fact, when we have unity then it is an answer to the prayers of Jesus too.

John 17:20-23 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

This is not conformity in which we must all be the same. You can’t make this unity by enforcing some sort of conformity. You also can’t produce this with an organizational structure or program. They were of one heart and soul in response to the prayer of Jesus who is even now at the right hand of God the Father interceding for us. Unity is a Holy Spirit produced “oil” that is required for the Church to minister effectively. Psalm 133 describes it as oil of anointed on Aaron the high priest.

Psalm 133:1-3 … Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the LORD has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.

We are anointed for ministry as a church and God’s blessing is commanded when we have unity. If we don’t have unity then we should stop and ask God why we don’t have it. Often we have unease if we don’t have unity. If you’ve ever been around a herd of nervous sheep there is plenty of noise and the noise of the sheep doesn’t calm the sheep.

John Owen (1616 – 1683) once said when preaching an ordination sermon that … the Holy Ghost thus promised, thus sent, thus given, doth furnish the ministers of the gospel, according to his mind, with spiritual abilities in the discharge of their work; and without it they are no way fitted for nor able to it,--no way accepted with Christ in what they do, nor can give any faithful account of what they undertake.

The unity that we see in the Church in the Acts of the Apostles is evidence of the Holy Spirit and we, reading Scripture, much be subject to a burden to pray and wait on God when we lack unity or any other promised gift of the Holy Ghost for furnishing us to the work of the Gospel.

I would like to point out Joseph, who was called Barnabas because he was such an encouragement. He, under the leading of the Holy Spirit, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet. It is terrible that many of us don’t know his name simply because he did what God led him to do and did it right. When you see him in heaven then please give him a hug. Instead we know about Ananias and Sapphira who merely wanted others to think that they had done what Barnabas did but without the cost.

Remember that Jesus had told the disciples that the destruction of Jerusalem was soon to occur. He gave them some signs to watch for and many Christians did watch and left Jerusalem before the Romans sealed them in and the horrible events of AD 70 occurred. So to be fair, if Jesus told you that Athens, GA was going to be destroyed by an invading army soon and even gave you some signs to watch for … selling property while it is still worth something (literally a pre-fire fire sale) would be an entirely reasonable course of action. Why would you keep a piece of land you can’t keep while your brothers and sisters go hungry? I hope you realize that your hearse will not have a bumper hitch and will not pull a cargo trailer. Barnabas’ property may or may not have even been in Jerusalem. Barnabas turns up repeatedly in Acts so we’ll see his name again.

The list of people who were apparently believers that have been struck dead by God (and the event recorded in Scripture) is not very long. The list has worship as a common theme. Nadab and Abihu were struck dead for worshiping God in a way that God had not commanded. Uzzah was struck dead for touching the Ark of God. Uzzah and those with him were honoring God in a way that God had not commanded. As R.C. Sproul once pointed out, if the Ark had fallen in the dirt then it would have only fallen on something that was being exactly what God created it to be; just dirt, sinless and without a rebellious heart. Instead, Uzzah touched it with the hand of a creature that was born in sin. He was constrained by the law but he was lawless none the less and thought nothing of transporting the Ark on an oxcart when God had commanded otherwise. And then Ananias and Sapphira managed to mess up when worshiping God with an offering.

Even with the preaching of the Apostles and the outpouring of the grace of God in the Holy Spirit, the Apostles didn’t have a perfect Church. However, they did have a dangerous Church for Christians with false worship to hide in. I pray our church will become so dangerous. We already have members who are policemen and funeral directors so we are good to go (I’m joking).

Acts 5:1-6 … But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.

First see the sin. He wanted to worship like Barnabas but he wanted to keep cash for himself. So he wanted to have it both ways, he kept the cash but indicated that he was giving all the cash to the Church.

Peter teaches things that we need to hear in these verses. First, we have a responsibility to battle the enemy. The Holy Spirit enables us for the fight and we are the ones to blame if we show up ill prepared for the battle. Here Peter, under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, rebukes Ananias first of all by asking, “How did the enemy convince you that you could lie to the Holy Spirit?” You can’t lie to God any more than you can move a star in space. It is a dumb idea. Also, if we are experiencing blessing then we can expect the enemy to plot an attack. The enemy was attempting to introduce lies and approval of lies into the Body of Christ. He is stronger than we are but we can submit ourselves to God and resist him and that will defeat him (James 4:7). Submitting to God is partly being bathed in Scripture as Jesus showed us by quoting Scripture when He was tempted in the wilderness.

Second, Peter affirms private property. He says that Ananias had the cash and could do whatever he wanted with it. Peter says, “Was it not at your disposal?” Of course Peter isn’t inventing private property. The eighth commandment says that we can’t steal. But Ananias wanted everyone to think that he gave more than he gave. Ananias was grandstanding when he was giving instead of worshiping. 

Thirdly, our sin is against God. Ananias wasn’t just sinning against the Church by telling the lie. He was sinning against God. We can’t minimize our sins by trying to keep them among mankind. Not only do we sometimes think our sins are just “local” (or against men) we also sometimes justify them by comparison of our sins with the sins of others. That is all false thinking. Your sin is treason against God. There lies your real trouble.

Acts 5:7-11 After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.

Peter gave Sapphira a chance to confess. He wasn’t going to force her to lie but she holds to the lie. Peter just asks in wonder how a husband and wife could agree together to test the Holy Spirit. So Sapphira drops dead not for the sins of her husband but for her own sins.

Also, although they were subject to God’s judgment, they were presumably Christians. So we’ll likely see them someday. They will be saved “yet so as by fire” suffering the loss of heavenly rewards (1 Corinthians 3:15).

Acts - Lesson 9

Last week we ended with the message that Peter delivered to the rulers, elders, and scribes after being thrown in jail for healing a man who was born lame. Peter took the issue straight to the heart of leadership by pointing out their sins and the exclusive claims of Jesus for salvation. The lack of fear and the clarity of the presentation were shocking to the leadership who were expecting fear and a lack of clarity.

Acts 4:13-18 … Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

These guys were fishermen from up at the Sea of Galilee. They fished for a living and didn’t have time to spend on a rabbinical education. However, they were disciples of Jesus and these leaders recognized a good job of teaching. Once again having that extremely happy guy standing and bouncing around next to them was a very bad idea for the Sanhedrin. The Greek word for resurrection is anastasis (ἀνάστασις) and means to rise again or stand again. John and Peter had an example of salvation standing with them in the person of the man born lame. So the authorities dismissed John and Peter along with their happy friend and discussed what they should do.

This is an interesting issue of authority. This council was responsible for all things associated with Judaism. This was the only true religion and therefore they were the world authority on right relationships with God … except they had rejected the Christ and their day of leadership was ending.

The logical sequence here is laughable but it is also deadly serious:

1)    Verse 7 – Question; by what power or name did you do this?

2)    Verse 10 – Answer; by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

3)    Verse 12 – Further exposition; there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

4)    Verse 17 – Response: We must warn these men to speak no more to anyone in this name.

Instead of an appropriate response to this – in their words – notable sign, they struggle to remain the religious authority. They can’t reproduce this sign and they won’t submit to the authority of Jesus as Christ so they are left with the ridiculous conclusion of trying to suppress the name that provided the authority. All authority in heaven and on earth belongs to Jesus Christ. There is no other ultimate authority at this point and their conclusion is to avoid using Jesus’ name. It is a desperate, crazy, and obviously temporary solution (if you are generous enough to even call it a solution).

Acts 4:19-22 … But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened. For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.

Intimidation was the only tool that the authorities had available because the sign that the Holy Spirit had provided was so wonderful that Peter and John couldn’t be harmed at this point because of the people. They thought that they had successfully dealt with Jesus and now here were His disciples doing similar things and clearly proclaiming the Gospel. They had suddenly grabbed them while they were speaking, thrown them in jail, and then told them not to use the authority that God had given them.

Peter and John enter into the area of civil disobedience here. The state is ordained by God and we must obey the state to please God – almost all of the time. But almost all of the time isn’t all the time. Our sin natures make us especially prone to rebellion so we need to be very careful in examining our hearts prior to taking a stand like Peter and John. Francis Schaeffer pointed out that there are times at which Christians are obligated to disobey the state. Peter and John were in one of those situations. Schaeffer got some static from evangelicals when he said situations may develop that make it right to disobey because the authorities that exist are ordained by God.

Romans 13:1-2 … Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.

Well there is a time to very carefully disobey and suffer the consequences. This must be done while watching and realizing that you’ll be tempted to simply rebel in your flesh. Christians have struggled through the ages over this issue. I think our inclinations to sinful rebellion make it especially contentious for us. For example, if one nation was using military force to protect us from other nations and then, to defray the costs, decided to tax our tea we might vandalize and destroy their property. We have a natural inclination to react badly to authorities and especially to taxes. However, an authority may tell us to do something that is not what God wants or they may tell us not to do something that God does want. At that point we need to carefully refuse. Peter and John didn’t say they were not under the authority of the Sanhedrin. They said they had to obey God and then the Sanhedrin would need to judge if they had done the right thing or not.

When you are faced with a “God or Caesar” decision then there are 4 basic solutions. First, there is a Monastic Option. This is an old solution in which the individuals in a community, or individually, seek to be subject to God alone and reject all earthly rulers. If they live in isolation then they may even become a source of entertainment and people may come to see their lifestyle. Think of the Dutch Amish and realize that their pacifism was not just based simply on not wanting to fight but also on a rejection of the government. The Anabaptists were not our forefathers (as Baptists) but rather the forefathers of the Amish, the Brethren, the Hutterites, and the Mennonites. These were the radical fringe of the Reformation and they were especially subject to persecution, in part because they were viewed as traitors because they would subject themselves to kings. We should remind the state that their authority comes from God and that they will answer someday for how they exercise that authority. However, we must remind ourselves that they do have authority.

Secondly, you can take a purely secular viewpoint and accept Caesar as the authority and deny that God has authority. This is most like the United States of today. Religion in private is viewed as acceptable but it is generally not accepted in the political arena. Our checks and balances in pitting the judicial branch, executive branch, and legislative branches of government against themselves are a response to the recognition 200 years ago of the sinful nature of man. However, in our day, if the government legalizes something then it is assumed to be moral. So if the government legalizes “domestic partners” then the public inclination is to assume that is moral and in fact it generally reflects the public’s inclination already. To say that sex outside of marriage is a sin becomes outdated because Caesar (our government) says it is OK and the authority of God is excluded from the secular debate.

Thirdly, you can make a cowards blend of God and Caesar but give Caesar the trump card. This is the position taken by Pilate at Jesus’ trial. He knew that Jesus did not deserve death but he was more afraid of Caesar than God. As a result he acted inappropriately.

The fourth option is the biblical option. It was exercised by Peter and John in recognizing both God and Caesar but giving God the trump card. The point that Francis Schaeffer was trying to drive home was that we are members of God’s kingdom and that kingdom will never end. The United States will eventually come to an end (I hope we have hundreds of years left) but the Kingdom of Heaven will never end. When we’ve been there 10 thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when we first begun. We want to be extraordinarily careful in coming to the conclusion that we must obey God and not Caesar and that Caesar must judge us for it because we want to please God and if we are wrong we will not please God.

I don’t think any of this was lost on John and Peter because they immediately wanted the prayers of the Church for God’s power and guidance. They didn’t want to be rebels but they wanted to be pleasing to God.

Acts 4:23-31 … When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’— for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

They didn’t want to act rashly and they didn’t want to fail to act from fear. They quote from Psalm 2 using a verse that deals with the rule of God versus the rule of men. It includes a warning to rulers to submit before God’s judgment.

Psalm 2:10-12 … Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

I love the stand they take against fear. They start their prayer with “Sovereign Lord” and go on from there. They confess that those who oppose them also oppose Jesus and that has God bounded (set hedges around) their enemies rebellion and caused the enemy to act according to His hand and His plan. Each of these wicked men acted according to their own corrupt will but always within the sovereign will of God. Keep God’s sovereignty settled in your heart because it is the source of comfort and peace in turmoil.

Then do you see what they ask for? They don’t ask for the authorities to die or even go away. They ask for boldness to preach the Gospel and for God to confirm their ministry with signs and wonders through the name of God’s holy servant Jesus.

The Church was having its collective mind transformed as individual minds were transformed. They were devout Jews and they knew the Scriptures but now the Holy Spirit was bringing revelation in the understanding of Scripture.

Earlier in Psalm 2 the nations want to break the rule of God over them. You may remember when we studied the Gospel of John that the people shouted that we have no King but Caesar. The core of their rebellion against God was expressed in claiming Caesar. The Sanhedrin was to be “under God” but they refused to recognize Christ. In Psalm 2, God laughs at the presumption of struggling against His rule. Every knee shall bow.

In Tolkien’s writing – in the Lord of the Rings – he presents the Steward of Gondor, Denethor II as a man who has made a terrible fall from being a steward to usurping power for himself because the true king had been gone for so long. He has two sons; one named Boromir who follows after his father’s lead and tries to seize power and then dies. The other so is Faramir who tries to please his corrupt father and almost dies in the attempt but shows a determination not to grasp for a throne that isn’t his or his fathers. His father goes mad. His love for righteousness and hatred of evil made him the steward that hands the kingdom to the true king. Tolkien was a genius in developing characters as a meditation on right and wrong. Apart from God’s grace, our sin will grow until we deny we are stewards of our lives and all our resources. Gradually we creep up on the throne of our lives and then get comfortable and then we become cemented in our rebellion against the true king.

That Sanhedrin, in ruling Israel, had forgotten that they were stewards and had they were hanging onto a throne that was God’s. When the Son of God was in front of them they crucified Him. When John and Peter performed a wonderful sign then they had to ask whose authority was in play because they knew it wasn’t their authority. How said it is that they couldn’t recognize God’s authority.

One of the phrases that we throw around pretty freely is that “Jesus is Lord” and we sometimes say it without thinking of what that means. If Jesus is my Lord then He has all authority and rule in my life. I answer to Him for all my life and all the resources that He has given me. If I forget that I’m a steward then I’m headed for correction from the Father. It may be painful but it is still an act of grace – unmerited favor and undeserved blessing – in my life. I pray I’ll always have the clarity of mind by the power of the Holy Spirit to praise Him for discipline and correction.