Interpretation: A Journal of

Between Text and Sermon

jt m « ‫! ף‬
“‫״‬,ÆÆSS
© The Author(s ( 2012
A c ts 11‫ — ן‬:I Reprints and permission 3
sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
D O I : 10 .117 7/00 2 0 9 6 4 3 12 4 4 3 194
int.sagepub.com

SAGE®
Jerome F. D. Creach
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Email: jcreach@pts.edu

ΓΝ ACTS 4:1-31, RELIGIOUS OFFICIALS arrest and question Peter and John because the two
apostles healed and preached in the name of Jesus “whom God raised from the dead” (v. 10). The
key issue in the account is authority, the authority that comes from God and empowers Peter and
John and the Christian movement they represent, over against the authority of the religious estab-
lishment. As is often the case in Luke and Acts, the presence of the Holy Spirit identifies the true
work of God and thus the locus of legitimate authority (Luke 1:15, 35; Acts 2:4). Peter is “filled
with the Holy Spirit” (v. 8), and he responds boldly to the interrogation of religious officials (v. 8).
Later, the Holy Spirit comes upon the church’s meeting place in response to a prayer for God to
empower the Christians to continue to speak with boldness (w. 29, 31). Thus, the Holy Spirit con-
firms that God is at work in Peter and John, as in Jesus. The religious establishment is threatened
by its loss of power and control and appears as an opponent of the will of God.

Acts 4:1-31 divides naturally into three sections, each of which represents a scene in the narra-
tive. The first scene (w. 1-4) takes place just as the events of Acts 3 are ending. Acts 3 tells how
Peter and John healed a crippled man who sat each day by one of the temple gates begging for alms
(3:1-10). Those who regularly saw the man in this place were amazed that he now could walk
(3:10). Peter then addresses the crowd in order to explain that the power of healing comes through
Jesus Christ, “the Author of life” (3:15). Indeed, the sermon Peter preaches in 3:12-26 states
emphatically that the healing power derives from the same source of power God used to raise Jesus
from the dead. Peter punctuates his sermon with the claim that “God has raised [Jesus] from the
dead” (3:15; cf. 3:26), thereby making the case that God was at work in Jesus and vindicated him
in the resurrection.

Acts 4 begins with Peter still speaking to the people about the work of God in Christ’s resurrec-
tion (“While Peter and John were speaking to the people . . .”, 4:1). The religious leaders who
approach Peter and John are “annoyed” that they are teaching “that in Jesus there is the resurrection
from the dead” (4:2). The leaders seem to be concerned at first that the theology of Peter’s sermon
contradicted their own. This concern is apparent in part by the prominence of the Sadducees among
the religious officials from the temple. The Sadducees were a conservative sect that did not believe
Between Text and Sermon 307

in resurrection. They recognized only the books of Genesis through Deuteronomy (the Torah) as
authoritative. Since these books give no hint of resurrection or afterlife, the Sadducees rejected the
popular belief in resurrection that other groups, such as the Pharisees, embraced.

The story portrays temple officials as a group that relies on ensconced human authority to main‫־‬
tain their way in the religious system. Not all priests of the period, however, would have opposed
Jesus. According to Luke 1:5-25, John the Baptist came from a priestly family and thus was him-
self a priest (priesthood was inherited; priests were bom, not made). Also, Jesus continued to rec-
ognize the sacrificial system in general and the authority of the priests (Mark 1:44; Luke 17:14).
That the temple officials are presented as a united entity opposed to the preaching of Peter and
John, however, allows us to see clearly how the establishment often receives new expressions of
power. Those in power in Acts 4 try to squelch the efforts of the ones they perceive as a threat to
their authority. They arrest Peter and John and hold them until the next day.

In the second scene (vv. 5-22), the religious leaders hold a meeting in which they confront Peter
and John. Here, another reason for the establishment’s concern emerges, namely, they were con-
cerned that their authority to regulate religious life was bypassed by two “uneducated and ordinary
men” (4:13). Five thousand people who heard the word about Jesus had converted, a sure sign that
something new was happening outside the realm of the religious leaders’ control (4:3-4).

The leaders who question Peter and John in this second scene are a larger group that includes
not just temple officials, but the whole ruling council known as the Sanhédrin. The main question
they have for the apostles is, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” (v. 7). The mem-
bers of the Sanhédrin are not concerned with the miracle of healing itself, but with the source of
power that gave rise to the healing. The question betrays their real concern, namely that their
authority has been challenged. Peter and John are teaching with authority, and that authority is
authenticated by the miracle they have performed.

Peter responds to the Sanhedrin’s question by identifying the healing miracle as a “good deed”
that the religious leaders should applaud (“if we are questioned today because of a good deed done
to someone who was sick . . .” [v. 9]). Then Peter proclaims that the power by which the healing
has been done is the resurrection power witnessed in Jesus of Nazareth. This declaration sets up the
work of God in Jesus as the supreme authority. Peter follows with a piercing indictment of the
religious officials for opposing this authority exercised “by the name of Jesus of Nazareth, whom
you crucified, whom God raised from the dead” (v. 10, emphasis added). Peter expands his argu-
ment with another accusation based on Ps 118:22. The OT passage says, “The stone that the build-
ers rejected has become the chief cornerstone.” But Peter alters the line so that it matches the
accusation of v. 10: “the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone”
(v. 11, emphasis added).

The members of the Sanhédrin now realize that if they do not release Peter and John, the people
will rise up against the council. As William Willimon says concerning the religious authorities’
308 Interpretation: A Journal o f Bible and Theology 66(3)

action, “The establishment must appear to exist for the benefit of the people” (Acts [Westminster
John Knox, 2010], p. 49). Indeed, the fact that the Sanhédrin brings no charges against the two is
telling. Peter and John are guilty of nothing except cooperating with God, empowered by the Holy
Spirit. The authorities therefore try to suppress the message they are proclaiming. They order them
not to preach. Peter and John declare, however, that they cannot but speak “about what we have
seen and heard” (v. 20).

In the final scene (vv. 23-31), Peter and John gather with other members of the church and pray
for courage to continue proclaiming the message in the name of Jesus. The prayer includes a theo-
logical assessment of the opposition to their message that again draws from the Psalms. The prayer
begins by acknowledging God as creator (v. 24) with an allusion to Ps 146:6 (see also Exod 20:11 ;
Neh 9:6). Then the prayer puts the current opposition to the apostles’ preaching and healing in the
larger context of the opposition to Jesus that led to his crucifixion. This portion of the prayer quotes
the Greek version of Ps 2:1-2 (Acts 4:25-26). The psalm presents God as ruler of the universe and
God’s anointed as the divine representative on earth. The nations and peoples and their rulers,
therefore, oppose the One who created and sustains the world. Hence, Jesus’ crucifixion was not
just a failure of justice; it was an act of aggression against God. From this theological starting point,
Peter identifies the current threats against the apostles as the same threat against the divine will
witnessed in Jesus’ crucifixion. Instead of asking God for vindication or vengeance, however, Peter
prays that God grant members of the church the ability to “speak your word with all boldness” (v.
29). Hence, Peter’s selfless prayer to be empowered to act with God contrasts sharply with the lead-
ers’ self-centered attempts to quell the movement God inspired.

The preacher who takes this text for a sermon might draw upon the passage’s association of
resurrection with healing and wholeness and the fact that Christ’s resurrection presents a source of
power that directly opposes many expressions of power in the world. The passage also raises the
prospect that the Holy Spirit sometimes works to do new things independently of established
authority. One possible angle on the story is to encourage hearers to be alert to the work of God that
may oppose their authority or the authority on which they rely. Thus, the resurrection of Jesus is
bom to believers by the Holy Spirit as both hope and challenge.
Copyright and Use:

As an ATLAS user, you may print, download, or send articles for individual use
according to fair use as defined by U.S. and international copyright law and as
otherwise authorized under your respective ATLAS subscriber agreement.

No content may be copied or emailed to multiple sites or publicly posted without the
copyright holder(sV express written permission. Any use, decompiling,
reproduction, or distribution of this journal in excess of fair use provisions may be a
violation of copyright law.

This journal is made available to you through the ATLAS collection with permission
from the copyright holder( s). The copyright holder for an entire issue of ajournai
typically is the journal owner, who also may own the copyright in each article. However,
for certain articles, the author of the article may maintain the copyright in the article.
Please contact the copyright holder(s) to request permission to use an article or specific
work for any use not covered by the fair use provisions of the copyright laws or covered
by your respective ATLAS subscriber agreement. For information regarding the
copyright holder(s), please refer to the copyright information in the journal, if available,
or contact ATLA to request contact information for the copyright holder(s).

About ATLAS:

The ATLA Serials (ATLAS®) collection contains electronic versions of previously

published religion and theology journals reproduced with permission. The ATLAS
collection is owned and managed by the American Theological Library Association
(ATLA) and received initial funding from Lilly Endowment Inc.

The design and final form of this electronic document is the property of the American
Theological Library Association.