Acts 4

Acts 4:1

Good News for Everyone An EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary (2800 word vocabulary) on the Book of Acts www.easyenglish.info Marion Adams This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.

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Chapter 4 The *Jewish leaders arrest Peter and John, 4:1-4 v1 Peter and John were speaking to the people. As they spoke, the priests, the captain of the *Temple guard and some *Sadducees arrived. v2 They were angry. Peter and John were teaching the people that Jesus had become alive again. This proved that dead people will become alive again. v3 So, they arrested Peter and John. They put them in prison until the next day. This was because it was already evening. v4 But many people who heard the message believed. The men grew in number to about 5000.

Verses 1-2 The *Temple guard were like the police. Their captain’s job was to stop people, if those people were making trouble in the *Temple. The *Temple guard came because a large crowd had gathered. The crowd had gathered to listen to Peter and John. The *Sadducees came because Peter and John were speaking to the people. And they wanted to stop Peter and John. They had two important reasons for this.

1. The *Sadducees did not believe that dead people could become alive again. This was what Peter and John were talking about.

2. The *Sadducees were chief priests. These people were rich and important. That was because they helped the *Roman rulers. The *Sadducees wanted to keep their power. So, they needed to stay friendly with the *Romans. They did not want any trouble in a public place. They wanted to keep their jobs more than they wanted to hear the truth.

Verses 3-4 Peter and John were speaking, but those other men stopped them. And they put Peter and John in prison. But they could not stop the good news about Jesus. Luke says that ‘the men grew in number to about 5000’. This number does not include the women and children! Peter speaks to the *Sanhedrin, 4:5-12 v5 The next day, the *Jewish rulers and leaders met in *Jerusalem. And the teachers who taught people about the *Law met with them. v6 Annas, the *high priest, was there. So, were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and the other men in the *high priest’s family. v7 They made Peter and John stand in front of them. Then they asked, ‘How did you do this? What power do you have? Or whose authority do you use?’

v8 Peter, by the *Holy Spirit, answered, ‘Rulers and leaders of the people, v9 we did a kind act to a man who could not walk. Probably you are asking us about this. Probably you are asking us how he got well. v10 If you are, then you and all the people in *Israel should know this. We did it by Jesus’ authority. That is, Jesus *Christ from *Nazareth. You killed him on a *cross.

But God made him alive again. This man stands in front of you and he is completely well. This is because of Jesus’ power. v11 In the *scriptures, we read that Jesus is like a stone. He is like “the stone that you builders threw away. This stone has now become the most important stone” (Psalms 118:22). v12 You can have *salvation by him only. God has not given to us anyone else who can *save us.

Nobody else in the whole world can do it.’

Verses 5-6 The most important *Jewish rulers met in *Jerusalem. Together, the *high priest and 70 other men formed the *Sanhedrin. The men in the *Sanhedrin had to decide whether a person was guilty of a crime. People from the Sanhedrin had sent Jesus to die. Both Annas and Caiaphas had been at the courts then (John 18:12-14, 24). Here, the men in the *Sanhedrin met to decide whether Peter and John should have a punishment.

Verse 7 Peter and John stood in front of the most clever and powerful men in the country. This was a very serious matter. The men in the *Sanhedrin knew that a *miracle had happened. They wanted to know how Peter and John had done it.

Verse 8 Jesus had made a promise to *believers. He had said that they must not worry when important people asked them about Jesus. They would know what to say. So, they need not worry (Luke 21:14-15). The *Holy Spirit would help them. This is true today, too. Today we talk about our *faith in Jesus. And we must not worry when we talk about it. The *Holy Spirit will help us, too.

The *Holy Spirit helped Peter when he spoke to the rulers. He was bold. And his words were wise and true.

Verses 9-10 Peter reminded them that they should be happy. A sick man was completely well. Everyone could see him. He was standing in front of them. That *miracle was ‘a kind act’. But Peter and John had not cured the man by themselves. They had done it ‘by Jesus’ authority. That is, Jesus *Christ from *Nazareth.’ Jesus had cured the man.

Peter said, ‘You killed him on a *cross’ (verse 10). Peter was speaking to the men who really were responsible for Jesus’ death. Caiaphas was there. He had sent Jesus to Pontius Pilate, the *Roman ruler. Caiaphas had wanted the *Romans to kill Jesus.

‘But God made him alive again’ (verse 10). The people had done bad things to Jesus. They had killed him. God had shown to them that they were very wrong. He had made Jesus alive again.

Verse 11 Peter used the word ‘stone’ to describe Jesus. The ‘builders’ were like *Israel’s rulers. They did not think that Jesus was important. So, they had *rejected him. But he was ‘the most important stone’. He was the *Messiah. Now he sits next to God and he has the most important position in heaven.

Verse 12 The *Romans and the *Greeks had many gods. The *Jews had their *Law. But these could not *save people. Today, there are many other religions. But there is still only one *Saviour. Only Jesus can save us from the results of our *sin. If we believe him, we have *salvation. The men in the *Sanhedrin warn Peter and John, 4:13-22 v13 The men in the *Sanhedrin knew that Peter and John were simple men. Peter and John had never gone to school. So, the men in the *Sanhedrin were completely surprised. They saw how bold the *apostles were. That is why they were surprised. They realised then that Peter and John had been with Jesus. v14 But there was nothing that they could say. The man that Peter and John had cured was standing with them. v15 So, they told Peter and John to leave the court. Then the members in the *Sanhedrin talked together.

v16 ‘What shall we do with these men?’ they asked. ‘All inhabitants in *Jerusalem know that they have done an extraordinary *miracle. We cannot say that it did not happen. v17 We must stop this matter so that it will not spread any further among the people. So, we must warn these men. They must never speak to anyone again with Jesus’ authority.’

v18 So, they called them to come in again. Then they ordered them never to speak with Jesus’ authority. Neither should they ever teach with his authority. v19 But Peter and John replied, ‘You must decide what God considers as right. It is right to obey God, rather than to obey you. v20 We cannot stop talking about what we have seen. And we cannot stop talking about what we have heard.’ v21 So, the men in the *Sanhedrin warned them again. Then they let them go. The men in the *Sanhedrin saw that it was impossible to punish Peter and John. Everybody was praising God because of what had happened. v22 The man who could walk because of this *miracle was more than 40 years old.

Verse 13 Before Peter and John met Jesus, they were fishermen. (Fishermen are people whose job is to catch fish.) The members in the *Sanhedrin had gone to special schools. There, ‘*rabbis’ (special teachers) had taught them everything about the *Jewish religion and Moses’ *Law. They thought that they were cleverer than Peter and John. So, they were very surprised. Peter and John were very confident when they answered the *Sanhedrin’s question. Peter and John even explained the *scriptures. Usually, only *rabbis did this.

Then the men in the *Sanhedrin remembered that Jesus had taught Peter and John. Jesus had not gone to a special school either (John 7:15). But everyone had listened to him. He had explained the *scriptures too. It does not matter to God whether we have gone to school or not. It does not matter to God whether we are clever or not. What does matter is that we obey God. He will show his power by means of us, if we let him do it.

Verse 14 People could see that Peter’s words about Jesus were true. The man who could now walk was standing in the court. He was the proof.

Verse 15 The men in the *Sanhedrin told Peter and John to leave the room. They wanted to talk privately about what to do. Some students have asked this question. How did Luke know what they said? Perhaps Paul was there. Or maybe Gamaliel, who was Paul’s teacher, was there. Perhaps Gamaliel told Paul what happened.

Verse 16 The man who was standing in court had never been able to walk. Everyone in *Jerusalem knew that. But he was walking! A *miracle had happened. The men in the *Sanhedrin could not argue about this.

Verses 17-18 Peter and John had not said anything wrong. Nor had they done anything wrong. The men in the *Sanhedrin knew this. They could not keep Peter and John in prison. But they did not want the *apostles to tell everyone that Jesus was alive. And they did not want the people to see the power that there was in Jesus’ name. So, they decided to warn Peter and John that they must not speak in Jesus’ name. Nor must they teach in his name. If they did this, bad things would happen to them.

Verses 19-20 Peter and John had to do what God wanted. Jesus had told them to go to people everywhere. And he had told them to make people into his *disciples (Matthew 28:19). Anyway, they could not stop talking about what they had seen. And they could not stop talking about what they had heard.

It is the same for *Christians now. We know that the *Lord Jesus is alive. We know him as our friend and our *Saviour. We must share the good news, so that other people can know him too. We must not be afraid of what people might say about us.

Verses 21-22 The people in the court were *praising God because he had done a wonderful thing. The man was more than 40 years old. Nobody had expected him to get well.

The men in the *Sanhedrin knew that they must let Peter and John go. The only thing that they could do was to warn them again. They could not do anything else! The *believers pray together, 4:23-31 v23 When the *Sanhedrin had freed them, Peter and John returned to their own people. They told the people what the chief priests and leaders had said. v24 When the *believers heard it, they all prayed to God together. They said, ‘*Lord of everything, you made heaven, the earth and the sea. And you made everything that is in them. v25 You spoke by the *Holy Spirit, by means of our father David, your servant. You said this:

“The *Gentiles were very angry. But they could not stop what happened.

People made other plans, but these could not happen.

v26 The kings on the earth prepared themselves.

The rulers met together

to oppose the *Lord and his *Messiah.”

v27 In this city, the rulers have united to oppose your *holy servant Jesus. This is true. They have united against the man whom you made *Messiah. Yes, Herod, Pontius Pilate, the *Gentiles and the people in *Israel gathered together. v28 You had already decided that this would happen. It would happen by your power and purpose. v29 Now, *Lord, notice what they are saying. They will do bad things to us. But we are your servants. Let us be brave when we tell your message to people. v30 And reach out your hand to cure. Do *miracles and wonderful things by the name of your *holy servant Jesus.’ v31 They finished praying. Then, the place where they were meeting shook.

Verses 23-24 Peter and John went back to the other *believers. They told them what had happened. Then they prayed together. We can learn from what they did. When we have a problem, we should always pray about it.

Also, we can learn from the manner in which the *believers prayed. First, they called God the ‘*Lord of everything’. They were reminding themselves that he made everything. God rules over everything. Often we need to remind ourselves about this. He is bigger than any problem and he can do anything. But we must ask him.

Verses 25-28 The *believers were *Jews. So, they called David their ‘father’ because he was a famous king in *Israel. They said words from a psalm that David wrote (Psalms 2:1-2). He wrote this psalm about 1000 years before Jesus’ birth. His *prophecy there about the *Messiah had now happened. The ‘*Gentiles’ in the psalm were the *Romans.

And some people in the psalm wanted to stop Jesus. This was so that he would not *preach. And it was so that he would not teach. So, they had made plans to stop him. The *Jews were those people. Together, with their king (Herod Antipas) and their ruler (Pontius Pilate), they had killed Jesus.

But they had not stopped his message. He had become alive again. The *apostles were curing people in his name. His *church was growing and many people were hearing the good news. What had happened had been in God’s plan.

Verses 29-30 The *Sanhedrin had done bad things to the *believers. But the *believers did not pray that God would stop the *Sanhedrin’s actions. Instead, the *believers asked God to give courage to them when they continued to tell people about Jesus. They asked God to show his power when they spoke with Jesus’ authority.

Verse 31 At *Pentecost, the *Holy Spirit had come and he had filled everyone. Here, the *Holy Spirit came and he filled everyone again. God answered their prayer immediately. They all spoke God’s message in a bold manner.

*Christians can ask the *Holy Spirit to fill them many times like that. It does not just happen once. When the *Holy Spirit has filled a person, we know it. We know it by how they behave. The *Holy Spirit makes us more like Jesus. The *Holy Spirit helps us to do things for God that we could not do alone. The *believers share their possessions, 4:32-37 v32 All the *believers thought the same way about how they should live. People did not keep their possessions just for themselves. They shared with each other everything that they had. v33 The *apostles spoke about the *resurrection of the *Lord Jesus. They spoke about it with great power. And they were very generous to each other. v34 Everyone in their group had what they needed. Those who owned fields or houses would sell them. They would bring the money that they had got from this. v35 They would give it to the *apostles. Then the *apostles would share it among people who needed it. Everyone had as much as they needed.

v36 Joseph was from the large group that were relatives of Levi’s family. Joseph was born in *Cyprus. The *apostles called him Barnabas. (This name means ‘a person who encourages’.) v37 He owned a field. He sold it. He brought the money and he gave it to the *apostles.

Verses 32-34 The members of the first *church cared about each other. They did not just say that they cared. They showed their love by what they did. People still owned things. But they would share these things with anyone who needed them. Some *believers owned land or houses. If anyone needed money, these people sold their land or houses. Nobody forced them to do this. They wanted to help each other.

In verse 33, Luke reminds us about Jesus’ *resurrection. This was the reason why the *church began. It is the reason why the *church is here today. Jesus is alive!

Verses 35-37 The *Greek words here mean that people would put the money down ‘at the *apostles’ feet’. This showed that people were offering it to God.

Luke mentions Barnabas’s gift. Barnabas was from the large group that were all Levi’s relatives. Each *Israelite belonged to a large group like this. There were 12 such large families. Levi’s group served God in the *Temple. Later in ‘Acts’, we can read more about Barnabas. He travelled with Paul and he worked with him.

© 1997-2005, Wycliffe Associates (UK)

This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).

April 2005

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