Sunday School Lessons: Acts 4 Pt. 1

Lesson 7
Chapter 4
Theme:  The results of Peter’s second sermon, the first persecution of the church and the power of the Holy Spirit
Summary:  5000 people were saved as a result of Peter’s sermon, the apostles were arrested and thrown into prison by the Sadducees because they preached the resurrection of Jesus.

 1 Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

The Pharisees were the religious rulers who arrested Christ and had him crucified.  Jesus was a threat to them while he was on earth because they were the teachers of the law and He was a threat to them.  Now that Christ was risen, the church begun and the Apostles were teaching, the enemies of the church were the Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection.  They did not want the Apostles to teach the people that Jesus had risen from the dead.

3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.

This was happening after Peter’s sermon on at the Beautiful gate and the people believed what Peter had preached.  Only the men were counted.  There were women and children among those who had heard the sermon, too.
  

5 And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, 6 as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.

These are the two men who had condemned Jesus to die. (Read John 18. starting in verse 13)  Peter had been there when Jesus had been brought in front of Annas the High Priest. It was then that Peter denied Jesus from fear of these men.  Now Peter is filled with the Holy Spirit and unafraid before them.

7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?”

What had they done?  And in whose name had Peter done “it?”  Do you think they knew what had been done and said the day before?
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel:

What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit?  When did the Holy Spirit come? When do we receive the Holy Spirit?  What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit?

9 If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, 10 let it be known to you all, 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 stands here before you whole. 11 This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ 12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Here is Peter preaching again!  Peter was the disciple who denied Jesus but now the Holy Spirit is helping him to be bold. Let’s read verses 9-12 and identify the truths that he is preaching.  This is the Gospel—the Good News of the Person and the Work of Jesus Christ!

Who is the stone that was rejected and become the chief cornerstone?

Read Matthew 1:21 together.  The angels proclaimed His name as a fulfillment of the prophesy that God had promised a Savior.  Yet again, Peter is pointing out to them that they should have known that Jesus was the Messiah.

Jesus is the only One who can save you.  The religious rulers thought that keeping the law would save them.  But Jesus is the only one who COULD keep the law and He kept it on our behalf.  When we trust in His life and death and resurrection, we are saved.
  

13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. 14 And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. 15 But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, 16 saying, “What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name.”

Peter and John were simple men but they had been with Jesus and He had changed them.  The religious rulers saw this and they had the healed man right there in front of them so they couldn’t really say anything against it.  Remember, all those people had seen and 5,000 had believed!

They knew they couldn’t convince people that no miracle had happened, so they decided to try to shut up the Apostles.

18 So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” 21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done. 22 For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed.

Notice that the Sadducees were untouched by what they had seen and heard.  They did not believe.  They knew it was true because the man was healed, but that did not convince them. Their hearts were hard.  Instead, they tried to figure out a way to make them quiet.  Peter and John were not afraid to tell the truth about Jesus.

*These lessons are written for use with elementary aged students.  You can find lessons for previous chapters here.