Peter and John Arrested

Peter begins with the good news that repentance does not leave sin sitting on God’s ledger. The blood of Jesus blots it out, like a debt wiped clean until it is as if it was never there. That joy sets the stage for Acts 4, where Peter and John stand before leaders who are greatly annoyed that Jesus’ resurrection is still being proclaimed.

The Sadducees reject resurrection, miracles, and the hope that comes with them. Their resistance cannot stop God from moving, though, because thousands believe even while Peter and John are put in custody. Peter and John stand before the same kind of council that condemned Jesus, yet fear does not get the final word. The Holy Spirit fills Peter again, stirring up boldness for the moment right in front of him.

Peter names Jesus Christ of Nazareth as the source of the healing. Jesus is the rejected stone who became the cornerstone, and there is no other name under heaven by which people must be saved. The council cannot deny the man standing before them healed, in his right mind, celebrating what God has done. The evidence is too plain, but the leaders still choose to warn the apostles not to speak Jesus’ name.

Peter and John answer with a simple conviction: they cannot help but speak about what they have seen and heard. Their boldness does not look ugly, mean, or hateful. Peter speaks hard truth to people who hate him, but he does it in the love of Christ. The council recognizes that these common, uneducated men have been with Jesus, because being with Jesus changes how a person lives under pressure.

The healed man also shows that Jesus’ timing is never careless. Jesus may have walked past that man many times before Peter and John finally said, “Get up and walk.” Christ did not miss him. Christ knew that one miracle at the right moment would lead thousands to faith, and God’s plan was far better than the man could have imagined.

The church responds to threats by praying to the Sovereign Lord who made heaven, earth, and sea. God’s people do not ask first for an easier road. They ask for boldness to keep speaking, while God stretches out His hand to heal. The place shakes, the Spirit fills them, and the word of God continues to go forward.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Repentance leaves no debt behind [50:48] Repentance is not a partial cleanup of a person’s past. Christ blots out sin through His blood, removing the accusation that stood against the repentant heart. The forgiven person gets to stand before God without carrying an unpaid ledger. [50:48]
• 2. Boldness comes from the Holy Spirit [55:25] Peter does not manufacture courage by trying harder. The Holy Spirit fills him for the exact moment when fear could have taken over. God’s presence may feel quiet at times, but Christ remains near and strengthens His people to trust Him. [55:25]
• 3. Jesus alone is the cornerstone [56:42] Jesus is not one helpful name among many options. The rejected Christ is the cornerstone, the only foundation strong enough to save. Every other hope eventually proves unable to carry the weight of sin, death, and judgment. [56:42]
• 4. Being with Jesus changes pressure [58:42] Peter and John face hostile men without becoming hostile men. Their words are bold, but their posture still carries the love of Christ. A life that has been with Jesus can speak truth plainly without using truth as a weapon. [58:42]
• 5. God’s timing is never careless [01:03:41] The lame man’s long years of waiting were not proof that Jesus had passed him by. Christ knew what would happen through the healing at the right moment. Waiting can feel confusing, but God’s plan reaches farther than the pain presently seen.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [50:25] - Sin Blotted Out Through Repentance
• [52:25] - Opposition to Jesus and Resurrection
• [54:13] - Peter and John Before the Council
• [55:25] - Filled Again With the Holy Spirit
• [56:14] - No Other Name Saves
• [58:42] - Recognized as Men Who Had Been With Jesus
• [60:21] - A Miracle They Could Not Deny
• [61:28] - Cannot Stop Speaking About Jesus
• [62:14] - Jesus’ Perfect Timing for Healing
• [64:18] - Praying to the Sovereign Lord
• [65:25] - Shaken and Filled for Boldness

1. “And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them,” [52:17]
2. “greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.” [52:27]
3. “And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.” [52:34]
4. “But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.” [53:55]
5. “On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem,” [54:20]
6. “with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family.” [54:29]
7. “And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, ‘By what power or by what name did you do this?’” [54:34]
8. “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders,” [55:17]
9. “if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed,” [56:14]
10. “let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well.” [56:22]
11. “This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.” [56:35]
12. “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” [56:48]
13. “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.” [57:49]
14. “But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.” [59:57]
15. “But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another,” [01:00:21]
16. “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.’” [01:00:28]
17. “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.” [01:00:59]
18. “So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.” [01:01:07]
19. “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,” [01:01:20]
20. “for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.’” [01:01:30]
21. “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.” [01:01:36]
22. “For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.” [01:01:53]
23. “When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them.” [01:04:18]
24. “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,” [01:04:25]
25. “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?” [01:04:35]
26. “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’—” [01:04:40]
27. “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,” [01:04:49]
28. “to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.” [01:05:00]
29. “And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness,” [01:05:00]
30. “while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” [01:05:11]
31. “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.” [01:05:25]

1. Which groups are described as being upset by Peter and John’s message, and what specifically were Peter and John proclaiming that bothered them?
2. What contrast does Acts 4:3–4 show between the apostles being put in custody and the response of the people who heard the Word? [53:48]
3. What facts did Peter point to when explaining how the crippled man was healed, and what name did he give credit to?
4. What did the council notice about Peter and John, and what evidence made it difficult for them to argue against the apostles? [58:42]

1. Why does Peter’s being “filled with the Holy Spirit” matter in a moment when he is standing before powerful leaders who could harm him? What does this show about the source of Christian boldness? [55:17]
2. Peter calls Jesus the rejected stone who became the cornerstone. What does that picture communicate about the difference between the religious leaders’ judgment of Jesus and God’s judgment of Jesus?
3. The council could not deny that the man had been healed, yet they still tried to stop the message from spreading. What does this reveal about how a person can respond to clear evidence of God’s work?
4. When threatened, the believers prayed to the Sovereign Lord and asked for boldness rather than safety or an easier path. What does their prayer reveal about their view of God and their mission? [01:04:25]

1. Acts 3:19 says that repentance brings the blotting out of sin. Is there a past sin, failure, or accusation that still feels like an unpaid debt? How could the truth that Jesus truly cleanses the repentant heart change the way that burden is carried? [51:41]
2. Peter and John spoke openly about Jesus even though they stood before the same kind of council that had condemned Jesus. Where might fear of rejection, conflict, or embarrassment make it difficult to speak honestly about faith?
3. Being with Jesus changed Peter and John’s posture under pressure: they were bold without becoming hateful. In a difficult relationship or disagreement, what would it look like to speak truth clearly while still showing the love of Christ? [59:21]
4. The healed man had waited for many years, and God used his healing at a moment that led many people to believe. Where does waiting currently feel confusing or painful? What might it look like to trust that Jesus has not missed what is happening? [01:03:41]
5. Peter and John said, “We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” What has Jesus done in a believer’s life that could be shared naturally with a friend, family member, coworker, or neighbor this week? [01:01:20]
6. The church began its prayer by calling God “Sovereign Lord,” the Maker of heaven, earth, and sea. When pressure comes, is prayer usually a first response or a last resort? What specific burden could be brought to God first this week? [01:05:35]