“Power Increases – Persecution Intensifies”
Acts 5:12-28

I. Introduction
It is June 5, 1967. Israel is about to be attacked by three of the Arab nations that border her territory. Egypt to the south, Syria to the north, and Jordan to the east, have developed a sec-ret military plan to destroy Israel once and for all. The combined forces of the Egyptians, Syrians, and Jordanians have a tremendous military advantage over the Israelis. They will use it to attack the Jewish state from the south, north, and east at the same time.

The Arabs have 547,000 men ready for battle, the Israelis only 264,000. The Arab air forces have 960 combat aircraft among them; the Israelis, barely 300. The advantage on the ground is just as daunting. The Arab nations are prepared to field more than 2,500 Russian-built tanks; Israel has 800. It shouldn’t take too long to finish off these Jews.

But there’s a problem. The plan to attack Israel isn’t quite as secret as the Arabs think it is. The Jews know of it, so instead of waiting to be attacked, they launch preemptive air strikes against the Egyptians and follow them up with other attacks against Jordan and Syria.

In six days it’s over. What begins on June 5 ends on June 11. Israel wins a decisive victory. While the loss of tanks and armored equipment has been about equal, the Jews have lost on-ly 46 planes, but their air force has destroyed over 450 Arab combat aircraft. Fewer than 1,000 Jewish soldiers have been killed, but the Egyptians, Syrians, and Jordanians have suf-fered over 21,000 battle deaths and nearly 5,500 more of their soldiers have been captured.

What were the results of the “Six-Day War”? The most significant result was that the city of Jerusalem was captured and reunited under Jewish control for the first time since 70 A.D. By human standards of reasoning and logic, the Jews victory in the face of such overwhelm-ing military odds was impossible, but what does the Scripture say?

Sarah laughed when she heard God tell Abraham that she would bear a son. But God said, “Is anything too difficult for the Lord (Genesis 18:14)?” To Jeremiah He said, “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me (Jeremiah 32:27)?” God spoke to Zechariah regarding Jerusalem’s future in the Millennial Kingdom.
*Zechariah 8:6-8
6 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘If it is too difficult in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, will it also be too difficult in My sight?’ declares the Lord of hosts.
7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Behold, I am going to save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west;
8 and I will bring them back, and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem, and they will be My people and I will be their God in truth and righteousness.’”
And with regard to the salvation of lost sinners, Jesus said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).” Think for a moment about from where the Church of Jesus Christ has come. A tax collector, six or seven fisherman, and a few other simple and unremarkable men laid its foundation against overwhelming odds. In the process they proved that the Scriptures are right when they say nothing is too difficult for God.

In fact, it seems that the greater the opposition, the greater the victory. Consider the “Six-Day War” in 1967. One day it looked like Israel was on the brink of extinction. But less than a week later, the Israeli army stood and prayed at the foot of the Western Wall in their beloved Jerusalem, victorious in a war they had been expected to lose.

Moshe Dayan, Israel’s Defense Minister at the time, said, “We have returned to all that is holy in our land. We have returned never to be parted from it again.”

Yitzchak Rabin, the Israeli Chief of Staff, was among the first to reach the Wall. Later, he said, “I felt truly shaken and stood there murmuring a prayer for peace. (The) paratroopers were struggling to reach the Wall and touch it. We stood among a tangle of rugged, battle-weary men who were unable to believe their eyes or restrain their emotions. Their eyes were moist with tears, their speech incoherent. The overwhelming desire was to cling to the Wall, to hold on to that great moment as long as possible.”

When it comes to Israel, God has repeatedly given them victory against overwhelming odds. He has done the same for the church. And isn’t that precisely how the church began? Every god-less power on earth was against it. The odds against the church ever growing beyond a few believers in Jerusalem were huge. And then the persecutions began. But the power of God only increased as the persecutions intensified. We’ll see dramatic examples of that both today and next Sunday as we look into Acts 5:12-42.
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II. Review
In Acts 3 Peter and John healed a lame beggar in the temple in Jerusalem. In Acts 4 this miracle, along with the preaching of the gospel, caused such a stir that, the religious leaders jailed the two apostles. Upon their release Peter and John were tried before the Sanhedrin and again warned not to speak or teach in Jesus’ name.
*Acts 4:19-20
19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge;
20 for we cannot stop speaking what we have seen and heard.”

And the church grew and prospered. At the end of Acts 4 Barnabas sold some of his land and brought the money to the church for the apostles to see to it that no one was in need of anything. In Acts 5:1-11 we met Ananias and his wife, Sapphira. They also sold some land and brought the money to the apostles. But they lied to Peter about what they gave.
And in their lies about their gift to the church, their greater sin of hypocrisy was exposed. In short, and unlike Barnabas, Ananias and Sapphira didn’t give their gift to benefit the church and glorify God. They gave their gift to glorify themselves.

Peter, being enlightened by the Holy Spirit, saw through their deception all the way into the couples’ hypocritical hearts. And God judged them on the spot. Both Ananias and Sapphira fell dead at Peter’s feet. You ask, “Why did God judge them so harshly?” Proverbs 6:16 says God hates “…a false witness who utters lies.” And in Matthew 24:51 Jesus said that hypocrites would be assigned to a place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

God hates lies and hypocrisy in the world, but He will not tolerate them in the church. That is because nothing will destroy the public testimony of the church faster than liars and hypo-crites. God’s judgment of Ananias and Sapphira serves as our reminder of that fact.
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III. Text
Before we go to the text ask yourself this: “Why is the church here on this earth? What is the purpose of the church?” If you ask those questions in liberal churches you’ll probably hear answers like, “We’re here to help the poor,” or “We’re here to fight for social justice and equality for all people.” If you ask those questions in more conservative churches you’re likely to hear things like, “We’re here to worship God,” or “We’re here to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus.”

Clearly, the last two answers are more biblical than the first two answers. But think about it. When the church is in heaven its worship will be perfect. When we are in heaven our know-ledge of the Lord Jesus will be perfect. So I want to go back to the first question. “Why is the church here on earth?”
Matthew 28:19-20
19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

The church is here on this earth to bring the gospel to a lost and dying world. That is the first and primary goal of the church. That has to be done here on earth because it can’t be done in heaven, can it? The early church grew as quickly as it did because the moment it was born on the Day of Pentecost the gospel was preached boldly and without compromise.
*Acts 2:41, 47b
41 So then, those who had received (Peter’s) word were baptized; and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
47b And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

*Acts 4:4
4 But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.

Through the early chapters of the Book of Acts we will hear statements like, “…the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly (6:7).” “…the church…being built up…contin-ued to increase (9:31).” “…and large numbers who believed turned to the Lord (11:21).” “And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord (11:24).” Why did that happen? One of the main reasons it happened was that the church, once the lies and hypocrisy of Ananias and Sapphira were dealt with, was purified, and the Lord blessed it.
*Acts 5:12-28 (Please stand with me in honor of reading God’s Word.)
12 And at the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s portico.
13 But none of the rest dared to associate with them; however, the people held them in high esteem.
14 And all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number;
15 to such an extent that they even carried the sick out into the streets, and laid them on cots and pallets, so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on any one of them.
16 And also the people from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together, bringing people who were sick or afflicted with unclean spirits; and they were all being healed.
17 But the high priest (Annas) rose up, along with all his associates (that is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy;
18 and they laid hands on the apostles, and put them in a public jail.
19 But an angel of the Lord during the night opened the gates of the prison, and taking them out he said,
20 “Go your way, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life.”
21 And upon hearing this, they entered into the temple about daybreak, and be-gan to teach. Now when the high priest and his associates had come, they called the Council together, even all the Senate of the sons of Israel, and sent orders to the prison house for them to be brought.
22 But the officers who came did not find them (Peter and the apostles) in the pri-son; and they returned, and reported back,
23 saying, “We found the prison house locked quite securely and the guards standing at the doors; but when we had opened up, we found no one inside.”
24 Now when the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them as to what would come of this.
25 But someone came and reported to them, “Behold, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!”
26 Then the captain went along with the officers and proceeded to bring them back without violence (for they were afraid of the people, lest they should be stoned).
27 And when they had brought them, they stood them before the Council. And the high priest (Annas) questioned them.
28 saying, “We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.”

A pure church – one in which lies and hypocrisy are not a part of its fabric – is a church God will bless and a church He will use. Robert Murray McCheyne was a nineteenth century Scottish pastor and evangelist. With regard to the purity of the individual Christian, he said,
“Do not forget the culture of the inner man – I mean of the heart. How diligently the cavalry officer keeps his saber clean and sharp; every stain he rubs off with the great-est care. Remember (that) you are God’s sword, His instrument… In great measure, (it is) according to the purity and perfections of (you) the instrument, that success will (be determined). It is not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus. A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hands of God.”

McCheyne’s words apply to each of us individually as well as to the church corporately. If it is truly our desire to be used by God, we must strive to keep ourselves – both individually and corporately – as pure and God-honoring as we possibly can.
*Acts 5:12-14
12 And at the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s portico.
13 But none of the rest dared to associate with them; however, the people held them in high esteem.
14 And all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number;

One of the great weaknesses of the modern church is that it rarely condemns or confronts sin.
(Many won’t even address it.) But when the Church of Jesus Christ refuses to deal with sin in its midst, it loses all credibility, not only with other Christians, but with the lost world too. But when sin in the church does arise, we have God’s biblical standards for dealing with it. Matthew’s gospel gives us what has come to be known as “the Matthew 18 principle.”
*Matthew 18:15-20 (Jesus speaking)
15 “And if your brother sins, go and reprove him in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.
16 “But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the
mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed.
17 “And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax-gatherer.”
18 “Truly I say to you, whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in hea-ven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
19 “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.
20 “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst.”

Regarding sin in the church let me read a quote from John MacArthur’s commentary on Acts. He says,
“The church pays a steep price for disobeying the Lord’s clear teaching on this mat-ter. The impure, worldly church that is the inevitable result of the absence of confron-tive holiness will not be an effective witness for Jesus Christ. Disciplining of sinning saints is not an option but an obligation.”

Acts 5:13 presents us with a paradox. Because of what happened to Ananias and Sapphira the rest (unbelievers) dared not associate with the Christians. But they had great respect for them. They had seen the power of their God. I wonder how many uncommitted or half-hearted people would try to join a church where God’s holiness was so clearly present.

Today’s conventional wisdom says a congregation that preaches holy living and exercises church discipline cannot grow. It will only turn people away. It will turn away those who refuse to admit their sin and deal with it. But what happened after God dealt with the sin of Ananias and Sapphira? Look at Acts 5:14. “And all the more believers in the Lord, multi-tudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number.” Could it be any clearer? Neither the plans nor the wisdom of men build the Church of Jesus Christ – He builds it!

Yet today we are awash in churches that refuse to call for holy living or exercise biblical dis-cipline when it is required. They say its “mean-spirited,” and “Who are you to judge?” Is it any wonder that the universal church is filled with lying and hypocrisy, and is so willing to tolerate sin among its members?

Do we really want a pure church, a church that is powerful and has a testimony to match? If we do, we must be committed to the Lord Jesus and submit ourselves to Him. Such was the case in the first church.

Now look once more at the first part of v. 12. It says, “And at the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people…”
*Acts 5:15-16
15 to such an extent that they even carried the sick out into the streets, and laid them on cots and pallets, so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on any one of them.
16 And also the people from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together, bringing people who were sick or afflicted with unclean spirits; and
they were all being healed.

Here we see the church exercising great power.
*Acts 4:29-30
29 “And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence,
30 while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.”

Now that the church has been purified, God has answered that prayer. Up to this point in time the church’s influence has been limited to Jerusalem. But now, with these miracles being performed by the apostles, the news is spreading to the surrounding communities. In this you can begin to see the fulfillment of Jesus’ words both from the end of Luke’s gospel and the beginning of Acts.
Luke 24:46-47
46 (Jesus) said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead (on) the third day;
47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

Acts 1:8
8 “…you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

The apostles’ prayers are answered. The Church of Jesus Christ is purified. The power of God is displayed. And unbelief hates it. So how does unbelief respond? (back to Acts 5)
*Acts 5:17-26
17 But the high priest (Annas) rose up, along with all his associates (that is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy;
18 and they laid hands on the apostles, and put them in a public jail.
19 But an angel of the Lord during the night opened the gates of the prison, and taking them out he said,
20 “Go your way, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life.”
21 And upon hearing this, they entered into the temple about daybreak, and be-gan to teach. Now when the high priest and his associates had come, they called the Council together, even all the Senate of the sons of Israel, and sent orders to the prison house for them to be brought.

22 But the officers who came did not find them (Peter and the apostles) in the pri-son; and they returned, and reported back,
23 saying, “We found the prison house locked quite securely and the guards standing at the doors; but when we had opened up, we found no one inside.”
24 Now when the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them as to what would come of this.
25 But someone came and reported to them, “Behold, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!”
26 Then the captain went along with the officers and proceeded to bring them back without violence (for they were afraid of the people, lest they should be stoned).

Listen, a praying church becomes a purified church. A purified church becomes a powerful church. And a powerful church provokes hostility and persecution. Paul told Timothy…
2 Timothy 3:12
12 And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

Before Peter went home to heaven, he learned a great deal about persecution and suffering.
1 Peter 2:20b-21
20b …if when you do what is right and suffer for it, you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.
21 For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.
1 Peter 3:17
17 For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.
1 Peter 4:14
14 If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

So as the power of the church increased, the persecution of the church intensified. This was true two thousand years ago and it is true today. And it is important for us to remember that such persecution can come from both the left and the right. In Acts 5 it is the Sadducees – the radical political and religious leftists in Israel – who were leading the charge against the early church. But in the gospels it was the Pharisees – the political and religious right wing zealots – who opposed Jesus.

Look, it doesn’t matter which extreme it is; it doesn’t matter from which direction it comes, left or right. The true church is a threat to unbelief, and unbelief will do all it can to thwart the true church. It always has and it always will. So in Acts 5:18 unbelieving Sadducees, led by their high priest, arrest Peter and the apostles and imprison them. In vv. 19-20 an an-gel frees them from prison and tells them to go right back to the temple and keep preaching.

Shouldn’t they run away? Why would they walk right back into the fray? I believe that the answer is simple. They know God is with them. What do they have to fear? In the first part of v. 21, while it is still early in the morning, they obey God, they go back to the temple, and they preach Christ.

But the Sanhedrin (the Council and the Senate), not realizing the apostles had been freed, send officers to bring the prisoners before them. In vv. 22-24 the captain of the guard finds only
empty cells, and the captain and the chief priests are “greatly perplexed” by this. You’d expect that since the doors are still locked. Then in v. 25 the Sanhedrin receives word that the apostles are once again preaching in the temple.

The Jewish leaders were used to being obeyed. This was an act of outright defiance of their authority. In v. 26 the guards are ordered to bring the apostles before the Sanhedrin, but “to be gentle.” By now Jesus’ men are so well-known and have so much credibility with the people that, for fears of an uprising, the Jews are going to be very careful with them.
*Acts 5:27-28
27 And when they had brought them, they stood them before the Council. And the high priest (Annas) questioned them.
28 saying, “We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.”

This is the second time Peter and John find themselves standing before the Council. (It’s the first time for the other ten apostles.) The first time was in Acts 4:18 when they were commanded “not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.” But Peter and John said they had to obey God, not men. The Sanhedrin threatened the apostles but chose to release them.

Now, in Acts 5:28, the apostles are told that they’d already been warned not to teach “in this name.” But now they’ve ignored that warning. Rather than obey the authorities, they have actually increased their teaching, having “filled Jerusalem” with the gospel. From the San-hedrin’s standpoint that was bad enough, but now these followers of Jesus have gone too far. Now His followers are saying that the Lord’s blood is on them.

Actually, the apostles have said that from the first day of the church. Do you think the Jews forgot what they said when Pilate tried to release Jesus and symbolically washed his hands of the Lord’s blood? They said, “(Let) His blood be on us and our children (Matthew 27:25).”
But now that it was no longer convenient or expedient, they claim that they do not want the responsibility for Jesus’ death. But it is too late for that.

We’re going to stop here at the end of Acts 5:28 and pick up the narrative next Sunday with the apostles’ response to this accusation. But you already know what their response will be, don’t you? It’s right there in v. 29. There are two questions for us. They are, “What will the Sanhedrin do about it?” and “What will God do about that?”
Now here is one more question. “What can you take with you today from all of this?”
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IV. Conclusion
Take this: When God’s power is increased, persecution is intensified. That is the sobering reality for every one of God’s children. But that’s hardly the end of the story. On the con-trary, it’s only the beginning.

The corollary is that when persecution intensifies, God’s power is increased all the more. The fact is that the persecution, the opposition, and even the hatred of this world for the Lord Jesus and His truth can never overwhelm God’s power.

God wants us to know that there is a liberty and a freedom in Him that nothing – not the first century Jews or Romans, not the false religions of today, not the laws of men that for the last two thousand years have sought to drive Christianity underground, not ISIS, not even Satan and his demons – there is a liberty and a freedom that nothing can stop or imprison. In the Apostle Paul’s second and final letter to his young protégé Timothy he said…
2 Timothy 2:9-10
9 …I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned.
10 For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.

~ Pray ~