Acts 5:12-42

First of all, thank you guys, because that was very powerful musical worship this morning.

As always, I love that part of our morning when we get to sing together to the Lord.

! It's a very comforting and a wonderful time.

It's an honor and a privilege to be with you this morning.

And I would ask for you to open up your Bibles, if you have them with you, to Acts chapter 5.

Acts 5 · chapter mention

Acts chapter 5.

Acts 5 · chapter mention

As I've been asked to preach from Acts chapter 5, verses 12 through 42,

Acts 5:12–42

as we continue our verse-by-verse exposition of the book of Acts.

Just by way of review, as we took a week off from the book of Acts,

for those of you who have not been with us, guests, or if you've just missed some weekends,

through the book of Acts, we have seen the start of the Christian church.

We have seen the disciples go out as they start to preach the gospel, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

And we also see beginning of persecution of the church.

In chapter 4, we see, after the apostles heal a crippled man,

that they are arrested as persecution starts,

and they are put before the Sanhedrin, the Senate Council of Israel,

and they are charged not to preach anymore in the name of Jesus.

The week before last, we saw Ananias and Sapphira who lie to the Holy Spirit,

and therefore God pronounces judgment upon them,

and they are killed for their lying to the Holy Spirit.

And that is where we pick up as news of this activity spreads throughout the nation of Israel,

throughout the city of Jerusalem.

And we pick up in verse 12 of chapter 5,

and God's Word reads, beginning in verse 12,

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.

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.

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.

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 priest 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.

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 sin.

And we are witnesses to these things,

and so is the Holy Spirit,

whom God has given to those who obey him.

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 man outside for a little while.

And he said to the men,

Men of Israel,

take care what you are about to do with these men.

For before these days Theodos rose up,

claiming to be somebody,

and a number of men, about 400, 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.

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 Christ is Jesus.

In his book entitled,

Do Not Waste Your Life,

Pastor John Piper writes,

and I quote,

If our single,

all-embracing passion

is to make much of Christ

in this life and death,

and if the life that magnifies him the most

is the life of costly love,

then life is risk,

and risk is right.

To run from it is to waste your life.

He goes on,

and he says,

I define risk very simply

as an action that exposes you

to the possibility of loss or injury.

If you take a risk,

you can lose money,

you can lose face,

you can lose health,

or even your life.

And what's worse,

if you take a risk,

you may endanger other people,

and not just yourself.

Their lives may be at stake.

Will a wise and loving person

then ever take a risk?

Is it wise to expose yourself to loss?

Is it loving to endanger others?

Is losing life the same as wasting it?

He answers,

It depends.

Of course,

you can throw your life away

in a hundred sinful ways

and die as a result.

In that case,

losing life and wasting it

would be the same.

But losing life

is not always the same as wasting it.

What if the circumstances are such

that not taking a risk

will result in loss and injury?

It may not be wise to play it safe.

And what if a successful risk

would bring great benefit to many people?

And its failure would bring harm

only to yourself.

It may not be loving to choose comfort

or security when something great

may be achieved for the cause of Christ

and for the good of others.

Close quote.

And brothers and sisters,

we are here this morning,

many of us,

if not all of us,

having been born again

by the Spirit of God

and by the grace of God

through the blessing

of the fruits

of the work,

of the risk

that many godly men and women

have taken for the cause of Christ

in the last 2,000 years.

Men and women

who fully embody

the very essence of that quote

by John Piper.

Men and women

who have risked everything

and who have paid

the ultimate price

and have lost their lives

at the hands of enemies

of the gospel.

All so that

the message

which was

at first

handed down to them

would continue

to spread

so that wretched sinners

in their generation

and generations to come

could know

and come to understand

the most prized,

the most worthy,

the most beautiful

type of knowledge

that any human being

can ever possibly attain to

in this life.

That is,

the knowledge of Christ

and the truth

and the very fountain of truth

from which all truth

and every good

and perfect thing

springs up from,

including the truth

and the only way

that sinners

can ever come

to a point

where they can have

peace with God.

The gospel,

brothers and sisters,

is and has been

a message

that has been

passed down to us

and has been

entrusted to us

and looking back

it has been

a road

filled and stained

with much blood,

sweat and tears

but make no mistake

about it

that that is exactly

how it was meant

to be.

Tribulation

and persecution

comes as a result

of living a godly life

for it was the first

born among many brethren,

the Lord Jesus Christ himself,

who promised his disciples

that tribulation

would come to them

while in this world,

John 16, 33.

And also in John 15, 20,

he tells them,

if they persecuted me,

they will also persecute you.

And the apostle Paul

also affirms this

as he emphatically states

in 2 Timothy 3, 12,

and we've heard it before,

indeed,

all who desire

to live a godly life

in Christ Jesus

will be persecuted.

And so in our text

this morning,

we will be looking

at some truths

behind these

foundational affirmations

and extract some

applications for ourselves

for it is my prayer

this morning

that every one of us

would come

to live a life

of risk

in faith

in order that

we may live our lives

without wasting them.

So I have divided

this text into

four headings,

but we are only

going to cover

two of them.

But let me give you

all four

and you can go back

and consider the last

two throughout your week.

The four headings

are, number one,

the obedience

of the apostles.

Number two,

the root cause

of persecution.

Number three,

the proper perspective

on persecution.

And number four,

the root of Christian

confidence.

So for our first heading,

notice the obedience

of the apostles.

Beginning in verse 12

through verse 16,

we read,

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.

Here,

we see the apostles

obeying and fulfilling

that command

of our Lord

in Matthew 28,

Matthew 28:18–20

verses 18 through 20,

when standing before

his disciples

after the resurrection,

he commands them,

saying,

All authority

has been given

unto me

on heaven and on earth.

Go therefore

and make disciples

of all nations,

baptizing them

in the name of the Father

and of the Son

and of the Holy Spirit,

teaching them

to observe

all that I have commanded

you.

We see in verse 12

that the apostles

were together

in Solomon's portico,

which it was

on the eastern side

of the temple

in Jerusalem,

and we see many signs

and wonders

are regularly done

by them.

The sick are being healed,

those who are demon-possessed

are being cleansed,

and the news

of this activity

spreads like wildfire.

We see in verse 16

that the people

from towns

all around Jerusalem

were going to them

and were also being healed.

Some of these healings

appear to have

unusually miraculous

types of healings.

As we see in verse 15,

it states that

some of the sick people

were laid on cots

and mats on the street

hoping that Peter's shadow

might fall on them

so they could be healed.

Now, some commentators

say here

that this verse

does not teach

that people were actually healed

by the falling

of Peter's shadow

upon them

and try to make arguments

to that end.

However, I have no problem

believing that people

were healed

in this manner,

and I do believe

that that is the very purpose

of the very mentioning

of that text

in that chapter.

Elsewhere in the book of Acts,

we see other miraculous healings

through interesting objects.

For example,

in Acts 19,

we see people healed

by handkerchiefs

and aprons

that had simply touched

the skin of the Apostle Paul

and then taken

to heal the sick.

However,

I don't think

it really matters

whether or not

people were actually healed

by Peter's shadow,

and I believe

it is rather inconsequential

for our main purpose

in our text this morning.

Although we are told

that all these people

were being healed,

and many signs and wonders

were done

among the people.

But the question

that I believe

we should be asking

is to what end?

For what purpose?

What did these healings accomplish?

And how do these healings

align with the Apostles' mission?

The Great Commission.

I think that there is certainly

an amazement factor

for us 21st century Christians

when we read about

incredible miracles

and supernatural works

of God in our Bibles,

and we certainly believe them

if we believe that God is

and that He is

who He says He is.

But let me ask you

this question.

How many of you,

like me,

often,

when you read

of these wonders,

think to yourself,

God,

I wish I could witness

something

of this magnitude.

Something of this

type of miracle.

This power of yours

in person

today.

And while I certainly

believe that God

is still doing miracles,

I would agree

with a cessationist

point of view

that miracles of this kind,

ministries of healing

of the kind

that we see

with the Apostles,

ceased with the last

of the Apostles

in the first century.

However,

my goal is not to teach

on cessationism,

but I want us to look

at the big picture

of this text.

So,

to look at what

the greater miracle

is in the text

that we still see

to this day,

but I think we often

overlook and perhaps

even undervalue

that miracle

which we still see

to this day

which is greater

than healing miracles

of the type.

And so,

like I said,

sometimes I read

this stuff

and I think to myself,

God,

I would just love

to see some miracles

like this.

To see such a display

of your power.

And I say that

without realizing

that I have seen

supernatural works

of God,

of this magnitude

and power

multiple times

and have heard

of many more

even then.

And what do I mean

by that?

I'll answer

with this question.

Again,

to what end

were these signs

and wonders done?

Salvation.

Salvation by regeneration

through the preaching

of the gospel.

The purpose

of signs and wonders

was to validate

and authenticate

the apostles

as true ambassadors

of God.

who were preaching

the true counsel

of God,

the gospel.

In Acts 2.22,

Peter says,

Men of Israel,

hear these words.

Jesus of Nazareth,

a man attested

to you

by God

with mighty works

and wonders,

signs that God

did through him

in your midst.

Miracles

were done

to bear witness

to God

to the end

that people

might believe

and repent.

In John 20,

John 20:30

verses 30 and 31,

John says,

Now Jesus did

many other signs

in the presence

of the disciples,

which are not

written in this book,

but these are written

so that you may believe

that Jesus is the Christ,

the Son of God,

and that by believing

you may have life

in his name.

Christ did not commission

the apostles

to go and simply provide

temporary pain relief,

to make a few fevers

go away

or to heal

some broken bones,

but rather

to preach the gospel

and make disciples

so that people

may have salvation,

peace with God.

And to that end,

they were obedient

and preached

as they were commanded.

And the fruit

of their labor

is seen in verse 14

of our text

where we read,

And more than ever,

believers

were added to the Lord,

multitudes of both men

and women.

And that,

brothers and sisters,

is what I mean

by the miraculous work

of God

that we ought not to fail,

ought not fail

to see

and stand

in awe

and worship

if you truly

understand

the level

of your sin

and extent

of God's holiness

and that in regeneration

God takes you,

his enemy,

takes your heart

of stone,

gives your heart

of flesh,

imputes Christ's

righteousness to you,

adopts you,

makes you

an heir

of Christ's

inheritance,

calls you a friend,

a son,

or daughter,

all by his grace

for his glory,

no amount

of miraculously

healed bones

could ever

outweigh

the miraculous

salvation

of one soul.

I love how

Paul Washer

puts it,

he says,

and I'm somewhat

paraphrasing,

but he says

that regeneration

is a greater display

of God's power

than his work

of creation

because

he created

the world

ex nihilo,

meaning out of

nothing,

but in regeneration

he makes something

holy out of a pile

of depraved,

sinful,

God-hating humanity.

So if these people

in our text

would have been healed

but not saved,

they would have

simply gone to hell

healthy.

So Christians,

be in awe

and give thanks

that you have

to look no further

than these walls

of this building

to see a miraculous,

powerful work of God.

No further

than these walls.

Now we see on down

in our text

that the apostles

are arrested

and put in jail

and in verses 19

through 21

we read,

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.

The angel tells them

to go and speak

all the words

of this life,

meaning go and preach

the gospel.

And they continue

in their obedience

by continuing

to preach.

And once again

we see that they are

detained and brought

before the Sanhedrin again.

Now the first time

that they were arrested

as I mentioned earlier

was in chapter 4.

And in chapter 4

verses 1 to 3

we read,

and as they were

speaking to the people

the priest

and the captains

of the temple

and the Sadducees

came upon them

greatly annoyed

because they were

teaching the people

and proclaiming

in Jesus

the resurrection

from the dead.

And they arrested them.

Did you hear that?

They were greatly

annoyed because

they were teaching

the people

and proclaiming

in Jesus

the resurrection

of the dead.

The Sanhedrin

was not annoyed

at them for healing.

They were fine

with the healing.

I can assure you

that they were okay

with no longer

having dirty

crippled beggars

being laid

at the temple gate

daily.

So in verse 18

of chapter 4

we read,

so they called

them and charged

them not to speak

or teach

at all

in the name

of Jesus.

They never

charged them

to stop healing.

So why the

hostility

and the opposition

to the apostles?

Let's examine

this in our

second point

which I've

entitled

The Root Cause

of Persecution.

The Root Cause

of Persecution

as we read

in verses 17

through 33

of our chapter,

chapter 5.

But the high

priest rose up

and all who

were with him

that is the party

of the Sadducees

and being 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.

Now when the high

priest came

and those who

were with him

they called

together the

council,

all the

center 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 priest 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

but not by

force for they

were afraid of

being stoned by

the people.

And when they

had brought

them they set

them before the

council and the

high priest 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.

When they

heard this they

were enraged and

wanted to kill

them.

Now I really want

to take some time

this morning to

examine with you the

root cause of

persecution and we

will do so first by

starting with a

general cause of

persecution specific

to our text and

then by digging

deeper into the

issue and looking

at a broader more

foundational cause of

persecution.

So where does

persecution come

from and why

should we Christians

in a church service

in beautiful and

peaceful quiet

Dahlonega expect

persecution in our

lives.

us.

Let's start by

looking at the

general cause of

persecution in our

text.

After the apostles

are brought before

the senate and

questioned by the

Sanhedrin Peter

preaches to them and

we read in verse

33 when they heard

this they were

enraged and wanted

to kill them.

But where does that

hatred and desire to

kill come from?

I think to better

understand this scene

it's beneficial for

us to have a broader

understanding of the

historical context

politically around

this time.

And so I also want

to take some time

this morning to

even navigate above

and away from our

text as we take

sort of if you would

in a bird's eye

view of some of the

history of the Jews.

So to start let us

understand first the

Sanhedrin.

You may remember

Nathan telling us

that they were like

the Supreme Court

of Israel.

It comprised of 70

members plus the

high priest.

The members were

mostly if not

completely made up of

the two major

parties.

Those being the

Pharisees and the

Sadducees.

The Pharisees were

the more conservative

of the two.

The Sadducees were

the liberals.

At this point in time

the high priest was

under Sadducean

control.

The Sadducees were

wealthy aristocrats.

They were the elite

class per se.

They also believed

only in the first

five books of the

Old Testament as

being authoritative.

They did not believe

in the resurrection

of the dead.

They did not believe

in angels.

They did not believe

in the sovereignty

of God or in his

providential work

in the world.

They stressed the

libertarian free will

of man.

They denied most

things supernatural.

And we could say

that they practiced

religion more so

as political

opportunists.

So understanding

them, we read

back in verse 17

of chapter 5,

But the high priest

rose up and all

who were with him,

that is the party

of the Sadducees,

and filled with

jealousy.

They were filled

with jealousy.

But why jealousy?

What were they

jealous about?

And how does this

emotion, this

jealousy, lead to

persecution and a

desire to kill?

Well, it's interesting

to note that jealousy

throughout the Bible,

when put in a list

of sinful practices,

is always paired up

with things like

strife, malice,

hate, hostility,

etc.

Always put together

side by side.

And we see this both

in narrative

illustrations throughout

the Bible and also

in epistolic

exhortations.

So, for example,

a narrative

illustration, we see

in Genesis 37

that Joseph, he is

given a robe of

many colors.

And in verse 4

of Genesis 37,

we read that his

brothers hated him

and could not even

speak to him

peacefully.

Then down in verse 11,

it says that they

were jealous of

Joseph, and we know

the result of that

jealousy.

In that case,

they sell their own

brother into slavery.

As far as

exhortative examples,

we see in the

epistles, here are a

few, and listen to

how they are grouped

in this list.

You do not have to

turn here.

I'm going to move

through this pretty

quick.

The first one,

Galatians 5, 19

through 21, it says,

Now the works of the

flesh are evident,

sexual immorality,

impurity, sensuality,

idolatry, sorcery,

enmity, strife,

jealousy, fits of

anger, rivalries,

dissensions, division,

envy, drunkenness,

orgies, and things

like these.

2 Corinthians 12, 20.

Perhaps there may be

quarreling, jealousy,

anger, hostility,

slander, gossip,

conceit, and disorder

among you.

Also Romans 13,

13 through 14,

and I'm going to

skip that one,

but James 3, 14

through 16.

If you would,

turn to that one

with me.

James 3, 14

through 16.

James 3, 14

through 16.

James 3, 14

13 through 16.

We read,

But if you have bitter jealousy

and selfish ambition in your hearts,

do not boast and be false to the truth.

This is not the wisdom that comes down from above,

but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.

For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist,

there will be disorder in every vile practice.

Did you hear that?

Every vile practice.

Jealousy and self-ambition.

This was the heart of the Sanhedrin.

And what were they jealous of?

Were they jealous that they were losing popularity to the apostles?

I don't think so.

This was the great Sanhedrin.

They were ambitious, power-hungry,

prideful men

who had the law on their side

and the power to judge and control.

They were not afraid or threatened by the apostles.

And how can I say that?

Two reasons.

The first one I would say is an educated guess.

What I mean by that is,

can you imagine how arrogant and prideful these men were?

Here stands before them,

the disciples of Jesus,

a man whom in their minds,

only days after he had been welcomed into the city of Jerusalem by the people,

as if he was a king,

they, the Sanhedrin,

managed to turn the entire nation against him.

Right?

To the point where those who were on Monday

screaming out,

Hosanna, blessed be the name of the Lord,

by Friday they had changed their chance to crucify him.

They, the Sanhedrin, were proud.

And I think that in their minds,

they took credit for all that.

They managed to change the people's minds in a matter of hours.

They were proud.

They felt strong.

And here before them stood mere followers of a leader that they had already done away with.

They were not scared of the apostles and they were not scared of the people.

Now we read in verse 26 that the captain of the police and his men were scared of the people,

but not the Sanhedrin.

They were not scared of the people or the apostles.

They were corrupt and smart politicians.

They knew how to play the people.

They knew how to get what they wanted.

Now my second reason is from scripture.

Because scripture tells me that they didn't even fear God.

And if they didn't fear God,

I don't think they feared his messengers.

But I do believe that their jealousy towards the apostles stemmed from fear.

Fear of the Roman Empire.

Now why do I say that?

This is where I want to navigate above and away from our text

and quickly brush over about 600 years worth of history, of Jewish history.

So bear with me.

But I'm doing this because I want you to get a better feel for what the apostles were standing up against

as they stood before that council of 71 politicians.

And I hope that this doesn't feel too out of the way from our text, from our context.

And I promise you that I believe it has its purpose well within our text this morning.

So the history of the Jews, and I'm going to try to move kind of quickly here.

So you may not want to write notes.

You may just want to sit and listen so you get a good picture.

But if you want to write notes, it's up to you.

So the history of the Jews is filled with a lot of war and violence.

And starting in about 589 B.C., which is a little over 600 years before Acts chapter 5,

Acts 5 · chapter mention

where we find ourselves this morning,

the Babylonian Empire under King Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem,

destroyed the temple, killed many Jews, and took thousands captive.

We read about this in Jeremiah 52.

And this is the same King Nebuchadnezzar who we read of in the book of Daniel

who gets the dream of a great statue of a man who Daniel interprets for us as prophecy in the book of Daniel chapter 2.

Daniel 2 · chapter mention

The interpretation is given in Daniel chapter 2 that the statue represents five kingdoms.

Daniel 2 · chapter mention

The first one, Daniel says, to King Nebuchadnezzar represents him in the Babylonian Empire.

Now throughout the rest of the book of Daniel, the other kingdoms are described,

and Daniel lays out with such specific detail the course of events with world powers to come.

And it's just exciting to see the veracity of God's word through the course of history,

as prophesied in the Old Testament, hundreds of years before any of this came to pass.

Now, after being under Babylonian rule for some time,

the Jews came under Persian rule after Cyrus the Great defeated the Babylonian Empire.

And at the start of the intertestamental period,

we find the Jews under Persian rule, which is the second of the five kingdoms.

Now, in the intertestamental period, which is the 400 years between the closing of the Old Testament

and the beginning of the New Testament,

which is also referred to as the 400 years of silence,

because God no longer spoke to his people in those 400 years,

God continues, however, to sovereignly and providentially direct the course of history in the making.

And so in these 400 years, the rest of the remaining empires of the prophesied dream

from Daniel chapter 2 are described and identified except for the fifth one.

Daniel 2 · chapter mention

Now, for about 200 years, the Jews continued under Persian rule.

They were allowed to rebuild the temple and had religious freedom.

Around 330 BC, the Persian Empire fell to the Greek Empire,

which was the third of the five kingdoms under Alexander the Great.

After Alexander's death, his generals divided his empire into two,

and two dynasties came out of that, the Ptolemies and the Seleucids.

Judea first initially fell under Ptolemic rule for about 100 years.

The Jews were economically oppressed,

but had fairly good religious freedom under the Ptolemies.

The Jews at this time also were exposed to Hellenism.

Hellenism spread, which was Greek culture, but they still had religious freedom.

Then for the next 57 years, Judea came under Seleucid rule,

under Antiochus Epiphanes,

and that level of freedom drastically, drastically changed.

Antiochus placed the high priest of his choosing,

a man by the name of Jason, possibly a Greek,

not even a Jewish man, or at the least a Greek supporter.

He then issues a decree that all nations under his rule

should abandon their own customs and become one people.

He launched a fierce attack against the Jews,

plundered Jerusalem and set many buildings on fire,

had any copies of the Old Testament that he could find burned,

forced Jews to eat pork,

prevented them from observing the Sabbath,

prevented the circumcision of boys,

to the point that they would go around and check,

and if any boy was found to be circumcised,

the mother would be killed,

the child would be killed,

and the child would then be hung around the neck of the mother.

Pagan worship exploded in Jerusalem at this time.

Antiochus even had the title,

Theos Antiochus Theos Epiphanes,

inscribed on the currency,

which translates to Antiochus, God Manifest.

All this led to a 24-year war

led by a Jew named Judah Maccabee.

The war was called the Maccabean Revolt.

The Jews won and gained their freedom.

The Maccabees then established the Hasmonian dynasty in Israel.

The Jews had peace that lasted for a very short time,

and the Seleucid Empire once again attacked Jerusalem,

and this was around 129 B.C.

At this point,

leadership of the Hasmonian dynasty had changed

due to the first leader of the Hasmonian dynasty

being assassinated by his own son-in-law.

In a short period of time of about 37 years,

the Hasmonian dynasty had four different kings.

The fourth one, Alexander Gennas,

by that point,

Hellenism had spread deep into the Hasmonian kingdom,

which was the very thing that they fought against.

King Alexander Gennas took upon himself

both office of king and priest,

high priest,

and the conservative political party at the time,

the Pharisees,

demanded that he choose either or.

The king refused and sided with

and was supported by the Sadducees.

Shortly after,

a disagreement during the Feast of Tabernacles

led the king,

Alexander Gennas,

to have 6,000 Jews

massacred in the temple courtyard.

This event was a cause to the start

of a six-year civil war

in Jerusalem,

within Judea,

where 50,000 Judeans were killed.

And Josephus writes that this Sadduceean king,

Alexander,

had 800 Pharisees

arrested

and then had their wives and children's throats

cut in front of them

right before executing them as well.

After Alexander died,

his wife became queen of Judea.

After she died,

her son,

Heracanus,

became the rightful heir

of the Hasmonian kingdom.

And he was in favor of the Pharisees.

However,

his little brother,

Aristobulus,

who was more popular

and was in favor of the Sadducees,

rebelled against his big brother.

In yet another civil war,

Heracanus surrendered for the time being

and Aristobulus became king.

Now,

when we get to around 65 to 63 BC,

the fourth kingdom of Daniel's prophecy,

the one that is successor to the Greek Empire,

comes to the scene as the Roman Republic,

soon to become the Roman Empire.

So,

the Romans conquer the Greeks

and around this time,

Heracanus starts another,

another civil war,

to try to get his kingdom back

from his little brother.

Now,

there were so many moving pieces here

and true conspiracies

that led

to this continued civil war

between these Jewish brothers.

But for the sake of time,

I'm going to have to skip all those details.

However,

the two brothers

both ended up going to General Pompey,

a Roman military general

who just months earlier

had marched into Syria,

overpowered their kingdom

and made it into a Roman province.

Pompey originally sided with Aristobulus,

the younger brother,

which led to a crushing defeat

of Heracanus' allies' army.

But then,

Pompey changes his mind,

decides that he wants to take over Judea,

and thought that Heracanus,

the older brother,

would instead be easier to control

than Aristobulus.

So,

Pompey changes sides

and backs Heracanus now instead.

Pompey then fights against Aristobulus,

and Aristobulus surrenders to Pompey.

And in 63 BC,

Pompey marched into Jerusalem,

where he met more opposition

from the Sadducees.

And after a several-month siege,

which resulted in a good bit

of death and destruction,

and as Josephus puts it,

12,000 Jews were slaughtered,

with only a few Roman troops being killed.

The Jews lost their short-lived independence

and came under the rule

of the Roman Republic.

Pompey reinstalled Heracanus as high priest.

Now,

within the Roman Republic at this time,

there was also a lot of instability.

After his victory in Jerusalem,

Pompey returns to Rome,

and the first triumvirate

was established

by three men

who became

the most powerful men

in the Republic.

Pompey being one of them,

Marcus Crassus,

and Julius Caesar.

Not long after,

there was a civil war

which broke out

between Caesar and Pompey.

And the whole Heracanus

and Aristobulus thing

surfaced again

because Caesar

wanted to restore the kingdom

to Aristobulus,

the little brother.

Pompey's people,

knowing this,

then had Aristobulus

killed.

Heracanus and his closest ally,

Antipater,

were ready to fight

with Pompey

against Caesar.

However,

when Pompey was killed,

they switched sides

and helped Caesar.

Caesar then became

the sole dictator

of the Republic.

Caesar,

thankful for the help

of Heracanus and Antipater,

allowed Heracanus

to remain high priest

and gave Antipater

rule of Judea

by making him

procurator of Judea.

Now, one of Antipater's sons

is known to you

as King Herod,

who was later appointed

king of the Jews

by the Romans

and was the one

who had all the young boys

murdered at the time

of the birth of Jesus.

Now, Julius Caesar

is assassinated

and his adopted son

and heir,

Octavian,

joins forces

with Mark Antony

in what was called

the Second Triumvirate.

Now, not long after,

they turned

against one another

in yet another civil war.

Octavian won the war

and became Augustus,

the first emperor

and founder

of the Roman Empire.

Jesus was born

during the reign of Augustus.

So you can see

there was much war

surrounding

and even within Judea

up to this point

and even more

that I don't have time

to get into.

So why am I telling you

all this?

A few reasons.

First, history is important.

Also, I hope it gives you

a better picture,

but more importantly,

related to our text

this morning

to answer the question,

why were the Sanhedrin

afraid of the Roman Empire?

Now, here's where

I was going with all this.

In 63 BC,

the year that the Romans

took over Judea,

perhaps the most powerful

man in Rome

was a man

by the name of Cicero,

being that he was

the highest elected official

official of the Republic

along with one other guy.

The Romans had a law

that is referred to

as the Edict of Religio Licita,

which means the Edict

of Permitted Religion.

Listen to what Cicero writes

around this time

in his book entitled

On the Laws.

He writes,

and I quote,

Close quote.

Close quote.

Now, a few years later,

listen to what Gaius

Macenus,

Emperor Augustus' advisor,

said to Augustus,

probably within a few years

of Jesus' birth.

He tells him,

Honor the gods

in every way

according to the usage

of your ancestors

and compel others

to worship them.

Hate and punish

those who introduce

strange gods,

not only for the sake

of the gods,

but because those

who introduce

new gods

engage a multitude

of persons

in foreign laws

and customs.

From hence

arise unions

bound by oaths

and confederacies

and associations.

Things dangerous

to a monarchy.

Close quote.

Now, let me wrap up

this bird's eye view thing

and show you from Scripture

why I've said

what I've said.

Turn to John chapter 11

John 11 · chapter mention

for me.

This is a text

that Pastor Vodibach

pointed out for me

and we'll show you

how all of this history

comes together

in our text

in Acts chapter 5

Acts 5 · chapter mention

this morning.

John chapter 11.

John 11 · chapter mention

This is right after

the raising of Lazarus

and look at

verse 45

verses 45

through 48.

So,

John chapter 11

John 11 · chapter mention

starting in verse 45

we read

Many of the Jews

therefore

who had come

with Mary

and had seen

what he did

believed in him.

But some of them

went to the Pharisees

and told them

what Jesus had done.

So the chief priests

and the Pharisees

gathered the council

and said

what are we to do?

For this man

performs many signs.

If we let him

go on like this

everyone will believe

in him

and the Romans

will come

and take away

both our place

and our nation.

Do you see that?

Jesus

and then the apostles

were preaching

Christianity

a new religion

that was not

sanctioned

and officially

brought in

by Rome.

And because Rome

saw new religions

as the rise of unions

bound by oaths

and confederacies

and associations

things dangerous

to a monarchy

the great Sanhedrin

wealthy

and power hungry

was scared

that the preaching

of a new religion

would bring about

the wrath

not of God

but of the Roman Empire

and take their power

and wealth

away from them.

Brothers

the love of money

is a root

of all kinds

of evil

but the root

of all kinds

of evil

including the root

of persecution

is idolatry

a violation

of the first

and second commandments.

The apostles

here were preaching

against the Sanhedrin

sin

so you now have

I hope

you now have

a better picture

of what they were

standing up against.

They all knew

the Roman stance

on their religion

very well.

The apostles

likely knew

very well

that this was

what they were

standing up against.

They knew the risk.

These men

had crucified

their Lord

out of their own

greed and idolatry

and even so much

blood

had been spilled

in the very ground

upon which they

stood to be tried

yet they trusted

and were obedient

and they preached

the truth

in love

and they put

the mirror

of God's law

in front

of the court's

face

and called

them out

on their sin.

Peter says

Jesus

whom you killed

and the Sanhedrin

hiding their guilt

say

you intend

to bring

this man's

blood

upon us.

For those of you

who don't know

I used to be

a police

canine officer

I had an awesome

mean looking

beautiful

German shepherd

and when we

did bite training

we always

trained the dogs

that if the

handler was

attacked

they were to

attack back

and that without

even the need

of a command

to bite

that's how they

were trained

it was partly

out of instinct

if the dog

sees his master

attacked

he will attack

the attacker

and that's kind

of what we see

with persecution

because

unregenerate

people

are slaves

to their

sin

their sin

is their

master

and just

like if you

mess with a

dog's master

you are likely

to get bit

if you mess

with someone's

sin

you are likely

to be

persecuted

and so that

brothers and

sisters

is the root

cause

of persecution

and the apostles

were obedient

godliness

was manifested

in that obedience

and persecution

necessarily

followed

for persecution

was birthed

out of an

idolatrous

heart

enslaved to

sin

and nothing

has changed

almost 2,000

years later

if you preach

the gospel

people may still

want to kill you

and while they

don't have the fear

of losing everything

to the roman empire

they do fear the

police

and losing

everything

by going to

prison

but what has

changed

is in the

political realm

the lord has

made our

field

so much

easier

to labor

in

he has

provided

so much

protection

for his

workers

in the

institution

of our

government

we can't

be flogged

or killed

for preaching

according to

the law

and we even

have the law

on our side

when it comes

to preaching

in our

right to

freedom

of speech

so our

field is

easier to

labor in

yet the

lord's

words

still ring

true

that the

harvest is

plentiful

but the

laborers

are few

now

kind of

out of

time

out of

time

so i

will leave

you with

this

i urge

all of

you

to examine

your hearts

we should

be bold

in our

proclamation

of the gospel

for our

field to

labor in

it's not a

particularly

painstakingly

arduous one

to labor

in

i agree

with what

nathan

said that

at the

very least

we should

be experiencing

persecution

in the

form of

persecution

of our

ego

but i

think nathan

would also

agree with

me that

your ego

should not

be primarily

persecuted by

others but

should be

primarily first

and foremost

persecuted by

yourselves