Acts 4
AEKActs 4:5-29
5 This was the supreme spiritual judiciary in Israel. It comprised the heads of the twenty-four courses of priests, the scribes, and elders, said to have been in all seventy-one. The names of the chief priest and his immediate associates are mentioned for their official weight. Christ admitted their authority (Matthew 23:2).
8 The evangel of the kingdom is now for the first time since the death of Christ, proclaimed to Israel as a nation, as represented by her chiefs and elders and scribes. Hitherto it has gone to individuals in the nation with considerable success. Now everything hinges on the attitude of the official heads of the people. They had rejected Messiah Himself and were responsible for His crucifixion. The chief priests and elders knew that He had foretold His resurrection (Matthew 27:63). They had the evidence of the guard detail whom they had bribed to tell a false story (Matthew 28:13).
To this the apostles now add their testimony and confirm it by healing the lame man. When Peter speaks they are quite unable to answer him. Surely now they are convinced that Jesus is the Messiah! If He can save the lame man He can save the nation. Here was Israel’s opportunity. They stood on the verge of the kingdom.
If they accepted Him, He would soon rid them of their enemies and come to set up the sovereignty promised by the prophets. Should they refuse the testimony of the holy Spirit as they had rejected Him it would involve the whole nation in an eonian sin, and the kingdom could not come. The disciples’ question concerning the restoration of the kingdom at this time, is here answered for us for the first time. Again and again, during the course of its proclamation, the Jews reject the King and the kingdom. Here, however, we have the first refusal. This is the supreme crisis in the book of Acts.
Had they accepted the apostles’ testimony, the nation would have followed their lead, and the success of the apostles’ proclamation would have been assured. Now that they reject the testimony to His resurrection, it is clear that Israel’s rightful sovereignty will not be restored to them at this time.
13 Peter and John were not ignorant men by any means, though they lacked the culture and affectation which marked the learned class of that day. They had been in the school of Christ.
19 The attitude of the Sanhedrin had the immediate effect of abrogating their authority. They should have ruled for God, now they are arrayed against God. They should have been a terror to evil-doers: now they menace those who are carrying out His will. Peter, as an apostle of the Messiah, was one of the real rulers in Israel, and will one day sit upon a throne in the kingdom (Matthew 19:27). Hence he has the right to oppose the Sanhedrin and to carry out the commission which lie has from his Master. This is no example for us to follow in this economy. We are to be subject to the superior authorities (Romans 13:1) .
22 The healing of the lame man is called a sign, hence has some typical significance, especially in regard to his age. May this not suggest the forty years which followed, during which Israel was not able to walk before God?
23 The threats of the Sanhedrin produced a powerful effect on the believers. They were accustomed to obey their religious rulers implicitly. In fact, they gave their own chiefs and elders a place which the Roman power never could obtain. They must have some divine direction for continuing in a course prohibited by the highest Jewish authority. This is found the second part of the first Psalm (usually caIled the second Psalm). Here their own chiefs are associated with the nations in hostility to Messiah.
The Psalm should be read to the end. The threats of the Sanhedrin are as nothing compared to Jehovah’s threats against them. The judges of the land are exhorted to be instructed and serve the Lord, lest they perish when His anger is burning but a little (Psalms 2:10-12). The fact that their chiefs are no longer under Jehovah’s protection but the objects of His indignation emboldens them to go forth with the proclamation in spite of their opposition. Moreover, the Lord’s hand had been with the apostles, for many had believed, and it was evident that the Sanhedrin itself was afraid to exercise its full power, or Peter and John would not have been released.
Acts 4:30-5
30 The timid opposition of the Sanhedrin is in contrast to the boldness of those who proclaimed the evangel. God manifested Himself by miraculous interventions, and the powers of the kingdom abounded.
32 The laws concerning property were so different in Israel from anything with which we are acquainted that it is difficult for us to understand this and similar passages. First of all, each Jew had his allotment, which could not be sold. Even if it was disposed of, it came back to him in the jubilee. This was his means of living. If the kingdom should come, the land would be redistributed according to the prophets (Ezekiel 47:13). The action of the Pentecostal believers is all based on this fact. Whatever they had beyond their allotment would go back to its rightful allottee when the kingdom is set up. In view of this they sold the lands and houses they had acquired besides their allotment, and shared their possessions, or personal property such as money, among themselves.
34 A freehold was a piece of property to which actual title could be acquired, as is the custom among western nations today. The name, which means separated, shows that a freehold was not land held in common, like an allotment, but held by a title unaffected by the jubilee. Gethsemane was such a freehold (Matthew 26:36). Judas manifested his unbelief by purchasing a freehold with the price of his Lord, and the chief priest completed the purchase by paying the money. This was evidence that they did not believe in the coming kingdom, for they never would have bought the bloody field, only to find its title invalid when the land is reapportioned to the tribes in that day. The disciples, knowing that freeholds were not in line with the law and that they would be forfeited under the righteous rule of Messiah, put the means obtained from their sale into a common fund.
36 The allotment of the Levites could not be sold (Leviticus 25:34). But this field was his personal property. Had the kingdom come, he would have had his share in their allotment (Ezekiel 48:13-14).
3 Ananias and Sapphira sold a freehold which they had acquired, over and beyond their own allotment in the land. In this they did well. They brought a part to the apostles. This, too, was a commendable act. Their sin seems to have been, not in withholding a part, but in giving the impression that they had contributed all for the common good. Here we have a practical illustration of the righteous rule which will characterize the kingdom of God. The hidden motive is brought to light. An act appearing most praiseworthy on the surface is declared to be tainted with falsehood. No witnesses are needed. The Lord’s apostle can detect evil though most skillfully concealed. Judgment is immediate and summary.
4 Ananias was under no compulsion to sell the freehold. Neither was he obliged to contribute the sum he obtained to the common fund. All this was voluntary. But such a course would have lowered him in the eyes of the disciples and he wished to be well thought of. But his avarice was too strong to allow him to part with the whole sum, so he, in effect, steals a part of the gift, and presents the rest as though it were the whole amount. This was hypocrisy in its most hateful form. In an administration of grace, such as we enjoy today, such sins are not followed by swift judgment. They wait until the tribunal of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10). But in the administration of the kingdom, righteousness will reign and sin will be suppressed.
11 The result of the sudden and severe judgment of Ananias and Sapphira was great fear, both among the believers and others who hear of it. The resultant conduct was not the free unforced desire to please God which is inspired by His love and grace, which should actuate us in this economy, but restraint from evil through dread of judgment. It is based on power from without rather than an impulse from within. We are not in danger of any judgment, hence have no such motive to mold our behavior. Our lives should be the fruit of love.
13 The awful atmosphere of inflexible righteousness which repelled the unbelieving was an adumbration of the day when a King shall reign In righteousness and through the greatness of His power His enemies shall yield a feigned obedience to Him (Psalms 18:44; Psalms 18:1-18; Psalms 6:1-10; Psalms 7:1-17; Psalms 8:1-9; Psalms 9:1-20; Psalms 10:1-18; Psalms 11:1-7; Psalms 12:1-8; Psalms 13:1-6; Psalms 14:1-7; Psalms 15:1-5; Psalms 16:1-11; Psalms 17:1-15; Psalms 18:1-50; Psalms 19:1-14; Psalms 20:1-9; Psalms 21:1-13; Psalms 22:1-31; Psalms 23:1-6; Psalms 24:1-10; Psalms 25:1-22; Psalms 26:1-12; Psalms 27:1-14; Psalms 28:1-9; Psalms 29:1-11; Psalms 30:1-12; Psalms 31:1-24; Psalms 32:1-11; Psalms 33:1-22; Psalms 34:1-22; Psalms 35:1-28; Psalms 36:1-12; Psalms 37:1-40; Psalms 38:1-22; Psalms 39:1-13; Psalms 40:1-17; Psalms 41:1-13; Psalms 42:1-11; Psalms 43:1-5; Psalms 44:1-26; Psalms 45:1-17; Psalms 46:1-11; Psalms 47:1-9; Psalms 48:1-14; Psalms 49:1-20; Psalms 50:1-23; Psalms 51:1-19; Psalms 52:1-9; Psalms 53:1-6; Psalms 54:1-7; Psalms 55:1-23; Psalms 56:1-13; Psalms 57:1-11; Psalms 58:1-11; Psalms 59:1-17; Psalms 60:1-12; Psalms 61:1-8; Psalms 62:1-12; Psalms 63:1-11; Psalms 64:1-10; Psalms 65:1-13; Psalms 66:1-20; Psalms 67:1-7; Psalms 68:1-35; Psalms 69:1-36; Psalms 70:1-5; Psalms 71:1-24; Psalms 72:1-20; Psalms 73:1-28; Psalms 74:1-23; Psalms 75:1-10; Psalms 76:1-12; Psalms 77:1-20; Psalms 78:1-72; Psalms 79:1-13; Psalms 80:1-19; Psalms 81:1-16; Psalms 82:1-8; Psalms 83:1-18; Psalms 84:1-12; Psalms 85:1-13; Psalms 86:1-17; Psalms 87:1-7; Psalms 88:1-18; Psalms 89:1-52; Psalms 90:1-17; Psalms 91:1-16; Psalms 92:1-15; Psalms 93:1-5; Psalms 94:1-23; Psalms 95:1-11; Psalms 96:1-13; Psalms 97:1-12; Psalms 98:1-9; Psalms 99:1-9; Psalms 100:1-5; Psalms 101:1-8; Psalms 102:1-28; Psalms 103:1-22; Psalms 104:1-35; Psalms 105:1-45; Psalms 106:1-3)