First of all, thank you guys, because that was very powerful musical worship this morning.
As always, I love that part of our morning when we get to sing together to the Lord.
! It's a very comforting and a wonderful time.
It's an honor and a privilege to be with you this morning.
And I would ask for you to open up your Bibles, if you have them with you, to Acts chapter 5.
Acts chapter 5.
As I've been asked to preach from Acts chapter 5, verses 12 through 42,
as we continue our verse-by-verse exposition of the book of Acts.
Just by way of review, as we took a week off from the book of Acts,
for those of you who have not been with us, guests, or if you've just missed some weekends,
through the book of Acts, we have seen the start of the Christian church.
We have seen the disciples go out as they start to preach the gospel, empowered by the Holy Spirit.
And we also see beginning of persecution of the church.
In chapter 4, we see, after the apostles heal a crippled man,
that they are arrested as persecution starts,
and they are put before the Sanhedrin, the Senate Council of Israel,
and they are charged not to preach anymore in the name of Jesus.
The week before last, we saw Ananias and Sapphira who lie to the Holy Spirit,
and therefore God pronounces judgment upon them,
and they are killed for their lying to the Holy Spirit.
And that is where we pick up as news of this activity spreads throughout the nation of Israel,
throughout the city of Jerusalem.
And we pick up in verse 12 of chapter 5,
and God's Word reads, beginning in verse 12,
Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles,
and they were all together in Solomon's portico.
None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem.
And more than ever, believers were added to the Lord,
multitudes of both men and women,
so that they even carried out the sick into the streets,
and laid them on cots and mats,
that as Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on some of them.
The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem,
bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits,
and they were all healed.
But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him,
that is, the party of the Sadducees,
and filled with jealousy, they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison.
But during the night, an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors
and brought them out and said,
Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.
And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.
Now when the high priest came and those who were with him,
they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel,
and sent to the prison to have them brought.
When the officers came, they did not find them in the prison,
so they returned and reported,
We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors,
but when we opened them, we found no one inside.
Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priest heard these words,
they were greatly perplexed about them,
wondering what this would come to,
and someone came and told them,
Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.
Then the captain with the officers went and brought them,
but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.
And when they had brought them, they set them before the council,
and the high priest questioned them, saying,
We strictly charged you not to teach in this name.
Yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching,
and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us.
But Peter and the apostles answered,
We must obey God rather than men.
The God of our fathers raised Jesus,
whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.
God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior,
to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sin.
And we are witnesses to these things,
and so is the Holy Spirit,
whom God has given to those who obey him.
When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them.
But a Pharisee in the council,
named Gamaliel,
a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people,
stood up and gave orders to put the man outside for a little while.
And he said to the men,
Men of Israel,
take care what you are about to do with these men.
For before these days Theodos rose up,
claiming to be somebody,
and a number of men, about 400, joined him.
He was killed,
and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing.
After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census,
and drew away some of the people after him.
He too perished,
and all who followed him were scattered.
So in the present case I tell you,
keep away from these men,
and let them alone.
For if this plan or this undertaking is of man,
it will fail.
But if it is of God,
you will not be able to overthrow them.
You might even be found opposing God.
So they took his advice.
And when they had called in the apostles,
they beat them and charged them
not to speak in the name of Jesus,
and let them go.
Then they left the presence of the council,
rejoicing that they were counted worthy
to suffer dishonor for the name.
And every day in the temple,
and from house to house,
they did not cease teaching
and preaching
that Christ is Jesus.
In his book entitled,
Do Not Waste Your Life,
Pastor John Piper writes,
and I quote,
If our single,
all-embracing passion
is to make much of Christ
in this life and death,
and if the life that magnifies him the most
is the life of costly love,
then life is risk,
and risk is right.
To run from it is to waste your life.
He goes on,
and he says,
I define risk very simply
as an action that exposes you
to the possibility of loss or injury.
If you take a risk,
you can lose money,
you can lose face,
you can lose health,
or even your life.
And what's worse,
if you take a risk,
you may endanger other people,
and not just yourself.
Their lives may be at stake.
Will a wise and loving person
then ever take a risk?
Is it wise to expose yourself to loss?
Is it loving to endanger others?
Is losing life the same as wasting it?
He answers,
It depends.
Of course,
you can throw your life away
in a hundred sinful ways
and die as a result.
In that case,
losing life and wasting it
would be the same.
But losing life
is not always the same as wasting it.
What if the circumstances are such
that not taking a risk
will result in loss and injury?
It may not be wise to play it safe.
And what if a successful risk
would bring great benefit to many people?
And its failure would bring harm
only to yourself.
It may not be loving to choose comfort
or security when something great
may be achieved for the cause of Christ
and for the good of others.
Close quote.
And brothers and sisters,
we are here this morning,
many of us,
if not all of us,
having been born again
by the Spirit of God
and by the grace of God
through the blessing
of the fruits
of the work,
of the risk
that many godly men and women
have taken for the cause of Christ
in the last 2,000 years.
Men and women
who fully embody
the very essence of that quote
by John Piper.
Men and women
who have risked everything
and who have paid
the ultimate price
and have lost their lives
at the hands of enemies
of the gospel.
All so that
the message
which was
at first
handed down to them
would continue
to spread
so that wretched sinners
in their generation
and generations to come
could know
and come to understand
the most prized,
the most worthy,
the most beautiful
type of knowledge
that any human being
can ever possibly attain to
in this life.
That is,
the knowledge of Christ
and the truth
and the very fountain of truth
from which all truth
and every good
and perfect thing
springs up from,
including the truth
and the only way
that sinners
can ever come
to a point
where they can have
peace with God.
The gospel,
brothers and sisters,
is and has been
a message
that has been
passed down to us
and has been
entrusted to us
and looking back
it has been
a road
filled and stained
with much blood,
sweat and tears
but make no mistake
about it
that that is exactly
how it was meant
to be.
Tribulation
and persecution
comes as a result
of living a godly life
for it was the first
born among many brethren,
the Lord Jesus Christ himself,
who promised his disciples
that tribulation
would come to them
while in this world,
John 16, 33.
And also in John 15, 20,
he tells them,
if they persecuted me,
they will also persecute you.
And the apostle Paul
also affirms this
as he emphatically states
in 2 Timothy 3, 12,
and we've heard it before,
indeed,
all who desire
to live a godly life
in Christ Jesus
will be persecuted.
And so in our text
this morning,
we will be looking
at some truths
behind these
foundational affirmations
and extract some
applications for ourselves
for it is my prayer
this morning
that every one of us
would come
to live a life
of risk
in faith
in order that
we may live our lives
without wasting them.
So I have divided
this text into
four headings,
but we are only
going to cover
two of them.
But let me give you
all four
and you can go back
and consider the last
two throughout your week.
The four headings
are, number one,
the obedience
of the apostles.
Number two,
the root cause
of persecution.
Number three,
the proper perspective
on persecution.
And number four,
the root of Christian
confidence.
So for our first heading,
notice the obedience
of the apostles.
Beginning in verse 12
through verse 16,
we read,
Now many signs and wonders
were regularly done
among the people
by the hands of the apostles,
and they were all together
in Solomon's portico.
None of the rest
dared join them,
but the people
held them in high esteem.
And more than ever,
believers were added
to the Lord,
multitudes of both men
and women,
so that they even
carried out the sick
into the streets
and laid them
on cots and mats
that as Peter came by,
at least his shadow
might fall on some of them.
The people also gathered
from the towns
around Jerusalem,
bringing the sick
and those afflicted
with unclean spirits,
and they were all healed.
Here,
we see the apostles
obeying and fulfilling
that command
of our Lord
in Matthew 28,
verses 18 through 20,
when standing before
his disciples
after the resurrection,
he commands them,
saying,
All authority
has been given
unto me
on heaven and on earth.
Go therefore
and make disciples
of all nations,
baptizing them
in the name of the Father
and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them
to observe
all that I have commanded
you.
We see in verse 12
that the apostles
were together
in Solomon's portico,
which it was
on the eastern side
of the temple
in Jerusalem,
and we see many signs
and wonders
are regularly done
by them.
The sick are being healed,
those who are demon-possessed
are being cleansed,
and the news
of this activity
spreads like wildfire.
We see in verse 16
that the people
from towns
all around Jerusalem
were going to them
and were also being healed.
Some of these healings
appear to have
unusually miraculous
types of healings.
As we see in verse 15,
it states that
some of the sick people
were laid on cots
and mats on the street
hoping that Peter's shadow
might fall on them
so they could be healed.
Now, some commentators
say here
that this verse
does not teach
that people were actually healed
by the falling
of Peter's shadow
upon them
and try to make arguments
to that end.
However, I have no problem
believing that people
were healed
in this manner,
and I do believe
that that is the very purpose
of the very mentioning
of that text
in that chapter.
Elsewhere in the book of Acts,
we see other miraculous healings
through interesting objects.
For example,
in Acts 19,
we see people healed
by handkerchiefs
and aprons
that had simply touched
the skin of the Apostle Paul
and then taken
to heal the sick.
However,
I don't think
it really matters
whether or not
people were actually healed
by Peter's shadow,
and I believe
it is rather inconsequential
for our main purpose
in our text this morning.
Although we are told
that all these people
were being healed,
and many signs and wonders
were done
among the people.
But the question
that I believe
we should be asking
is to what end?
For what purpose?
What did these healings accomplish?
And how do these healings
align with the Apostles' mission?
The Great Commission.
I think that there is certainly
an amazement factor
for us 21st century Christians
when we read about
incredible miracles
and supernatural works
of God in our Bibles,
and we certainly believe them
if we believe that God is
and that He is
who He says He is.
But let me ask you
this question.
How many of you,
like me,
often,
when you read
of these wonders,
think to yourself,
God,
I wish I could witness
something
of this magnitude.
Something of this
type of miracle.
This power of yours
in person
today.
And while I certainly
believe that God
is still doing miracles,
I would agree
with a cessationist
point of view
that miracles of this kind,
ministries of healing
of the kind
that we see
with the Apostles,
ceased with the last
of the Apostles
in the first century.
However,
my goal is not to teach
on cessationism,
but I want us to look
at the big picture
of this text.
So,
to look at what
the greater miracle
is in the text
that we still see
to this day,
but I think we often
overlook and perhaps
even undervalue
that miracle
which we still see
to this day
which is greater
than healing miracles
of the type.
And so,
like I said,
sometimes I read
this stuff
and I think to myself,
God,
I would just love
to see some miracles
like this.
To see such a display
of your power.
And I say that
without realizing
that I have seen
supernatural works
of God,
of this magnitude
and power
multiple times
and have heard
of many more
even then.
And what do I mean
by that?
I'll answer
with this question.
Again,
to what end
were these signs
and wonders done?
Salvation.
Salvation by regeneration
through the preaching
of the gospel.
The purpose
of signs and wonders
was to validate
and authenticate
the apostles
as true ambassadors
of God.
who were preaching
the true counsel
of God,
the gospel.
In Acts 2.22,
Peter says,
Men of Israel,
hear these words.
Jesus of Nazareth,
a man attested
to you
by God
with mighty works
and wonders,
signs that God
did through him
in your midst.
Miracles
were done
to bear witness
to God
to the end
that people
might believe
and repent.
In John 20,
verses 30 and 31,
John says,
Now Jesus did
many other signs
in the presence
of the disciples,
which are not
written in this book,
but these are written
so that you may believe
that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God,
and that by believing
you may have life
in his name.
Christ did not commission
the apostles
to go and simply provide
temporary pain relief,
to make a few fevers
go away
or to heal
some broken bones,
but rather
to preach the gospel
and make disciples
so that people
may have salvation,
peace with God.
And to that end,
they were obedient
and preached
as they were commanded.
And the fruit
of their labor
is seen in verse 14
of our text
where we read,
And more than ever,
believers
were added to the Lord,
multitudes of both men
and women.
And that,
brothers and sisters,
is what I mean
by the miraculous work
of God
that we ought not to fail,
ought not fail
to see
and stand
in awe
and worship
if you truly
understand
the level
of your sin
and extent
of God's holiness
and that in regeneration
God takes you,
his enemy,
takes your heart
of stone,
gives your heart
of flesh,
imputes Christ's
righteousness to you,
adopts you,
makes you
an heir
of Christ's
inheritance,
calls you a friend,
a son,
or daughter,
all by his grace
for his glory,
no amount
of miraculously
healed bones
could ever
outweigh
the miraculous
salvation
of one soul.
I love how
Paul Washer
puts it,
he says,
and I'm somewhat
paraphrasing,
but he says
that regeneration
is a greater display
of God's power
than his work
of creation
because
he created
the world
ex nihilo,
meaning out of
nothing,
but in regeneration
he makes something
holy out of a pile
of depraved,
sinful,
God-hating humanity.
So if these people
in our text
would have been healed
but not saved,
they would have
simply gone to hell
healthy.
So Christians,
be in awe
and give thanks
that you have
to look no further
than these walls
of this building
to see a miraculous,
powerful work of God.
No further
than these walls.
Now we see on down
in our text
that the apostles
are arrested
and put in jail
and in verses 19
through 21
we read,
but during the night
an angel of the Lord
opened the prison doors
and brought them out
and said,
go and stand
in the temple
and speak to the people
all the words
of this life.
And when they heard this
they entered the temple
at daybreak
and began to teach.
The angel tells them
to go and speak
all the words
of this life,
meaning go and preach
the gospel.
And they continue
in their obedience
by continuing
to preach.
And once again
we see that they are
detained and brought
before the Sanhedrin again.
Now the first time
that they were arrested
as I mentioned earlier
was in chapter 4.
And in chapter 4
verses 1 to 3
we read,
and as they were
speaking to the people
the priest
and the captains
of the temple
and the Sadducees
came upon them
greatly annoyed
because they were
teaching the people
and proclaiming
in Jesus
the resurrection
from the dead.
And they arrested them.
Did you hear that?
They were greatly
annoyed because
they were teaching
the people
and proclaiming
in Jesus
the resurrection
of the dead.
The Sanhedrin
was not annoyed
at them for healing.
They were fine
with the healing.
I can assure you
that they were okay
with no longer
having dirty
crippled beggars
being laid
at the temple gate
daily.
So in verse 18
of chapter 4
we read,
so they called
them and charged
them not to speak
or teach
at all
in the name
of Jesus.
They never
charged them
to stop healing.
So why the
hostility
and the opposition
to the apostles?
Let's examine
this in our
second point
which I've
entitled
The Root Cause
of Persecution.
The Root Cause
of Persecution
as we read
in verses 17
through 33
of our chapter,
chapter 5.
But the high
priest rose up
and all who
were with him
that is the party
of the Sadducees
and being filled
with jealousy
they arrested
the apostles
and put them
in the public
prison.
But during the
night an angel
of the Lord
opened the prison
doors and brought
them out and said
go and stand
in the temple
and speak to the
people all the
words of this life.
And when they
heard this
they entered
the temple
at daybreak
and began to
teach.
Now when the high
priest came
and those who
were with him
they called
together the
council,
all the
center of the
people of
Israel
and sent
to the
prison to
have them
brought.
But when the
officers came
they did not
find them in
the prison
so they
returned and
reported we
found the
prison securely
locked and the
guards standing
at the doors
but when we
opened them
we found no
one inside.
Now when the
captain of the
temple and the
chief priest heard
these words they
were greatly
perplexed about
them wondering
what this would
come to.
And someone
came and told
them look the
men whom you
put in prison
are standing in
the temple and
teaching the
people.
Then the
captain with the
officers went
but not by
force for they
were afraid of
being stoned by
the people.
And when they
had brought
them they set
them before the
council and the
high priest and
the high priest
questioned them
saying we
strictly charged
you not to
teach in this
name yet here
you have filled
Jerusalem with
your teaching and
you intend to
bring this man's
blood upon us.
But Peter and
the apostles
answered we must
obey God rather
than men.
The God of our
fathers raised
Jesus whom you
killed by hanging
him on a tree.
God exalted
him at his
right hand as
leader and
savior to give
repentance to
Israel and
forgiveness of
sins and we
are witnesses to
these things and
so is the Holy
Spirit whom God
has given to
those who
obey him.
When they
heard this they
were enraged and
wanted to kill
them.
Now I really want
to take some time
this morning to
examine with you the
root cause of
persecution and we
will do so first by
starting with a
general cause of
persecution specific
to our text and
then by digging
deeper into the
issue and looking
at a broader more
foundational cause of
persecution.
So where does
persecution come
from and why
should we Christians
in a church service
in beautiful and
peaceful quiet
Dahlonega expect
persecution in our
lives.
us.
Let's start by
looking at the
general cause of
persecution in our
text.
After the apostles
are brought before
the senate and
questioned by the
Sanhedrin Peter
preaches to them and
we read in verse
33 when they heard
this they were
enraged and wanted
to kill them.
But where does that
hatred and desire to
kill come from?
I think to better
understand this scene
it's beneficial for
us to have a broader
understanding of the
historical context
politically around
this time.
And so I also want
to take some time
this morning to
even navigate above
and away from our
text as we take
sort of if you would
in a bird's eye
view of some of the
history of the Jews.
So to start let us
understand first the
Sanhedrin.
You may remember
Nathan telling us
that they were like
the Supreme Court
of Israel.
It comprised of 70
members plus the
high priest.
The members were
mostly if not
completely made up of
the two major
parties.
Those being the
Pharisees and the
Sadducees.
The Pharisees were
the more conservative
of the two.
The Sadducees were
the liberals.
At this point in time
the high priest was
under Sadducean
control.
The Sadducees were
wealthy aristocrats.
They were the elite
class per se.
They also believed
only in the first
five books of the
Old Testament as
being authoritative.
They did not believe
in the resurrection
of the dead.
They did not believe
in angels.
They did not believe
in the sovereignty
of God or in his
providential work
in the world.
They stressed the
libertarian free will
of man.
They denied most
things supernatural.
And we could say
that they practiced
religion more so
as political
opportunists.
So understanding
them, we read
back in verse 17
of chapter 5,
But the high priest
rose up and all
who were with him,
that is the party
of the Sadducees,
and filled with
jealousy.
They were filled
with jealousy.
But why jealousy?
What were they
jealous about?
And how does this
emotion, this
jealousy, lead to
persecution and a
desire to kill?
Well, it's interesting
to note that jealousy
throughout the Bible,
when put in a list
of sinful practices,
is always paired up
with things like
strife, malice,
hate, hostility,
etc.
Always put together
side by side.
And we see this both
in narrative
illustrations throughout
the Bible and also
in epistolic
exhortations.
So, for example,
a narrative
illustration, we see
in Genesis 37
that Joseph, he is
given a robe of
many colors.
And in verse 4
of Genesis 37,
we read that his
brothers hated him
and could not even
speak to him
peacefully.
Then down in verse 11,
it says that they
were jealous of
Joseph, and we know
the result of that
jealousy.
In that case,
they sell their own
brother into slavery.
As far as
exhortative examples,
we see in the
epistles, here are a
few, and listen to
how they are grouped
in this list.
You do not have to
turn here.
I'm going to move
through this pretty
quick.
The first one,
Galatians 5, 19
through 21, it says,
Now the works of the
flesh are evident,
sexual immorality,
impurity, sensuality,
idolatry, sorcery,
enmity, strife,
jealousy, fits of
anger, rivalries,
dissensions, division,
envy, drunkenness,
orgies, and things
like these.
2 Corinthians 12, 20.
Perhaps there may be
quarreling, jealousy,
anger, hostility,
slander, gossip,
conceit, and disorder
among you.
Also Romans 13,
13 through 14,
and I'm going to
skip that one,
but James 3, 14
through 16.
If you would,
turn to that one
with me.
James 3, 14
through 16.
James 3, 14
through 16.
James 3, 14
13 through 16.
We read,
But if you have bitter jealousy
and selfish ambition in your hearts,
do not boast and be false to the truth.
This is not the wisdom that comes down from above,
but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.
For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist,
there will be disorder in every vile practice.
Did you hear that?
Every vile practice.
Jealousy and self-ambition.
This was the heart of the Sanhedrin.
And what were they jealous of?
Were they jealous that they were losing popularity to the apostles?
I don't think so.
This was the great Sanhedrin.
They were ambitious, power-hungry,
prideful men
who had the law on their side
and the power to judge and control.
They were not afraid or threatened by the apostles.
And how can I say that?
Two reasons.
The first one I would say is an educated guess.
What I mean by that is,
can you imagine how arrogant and prideful these men were?
Here stands before them,
the disciples of Jesus,
a man whom in their minds,
only days after he had been welcomed into the city of Jerusalem by the people,
as if he was a king,
they, the Sanhedrin,
managed to turn the entire nation against him.
Right?
To the point where those who were on Monday
screaming out,
Hosanna, blessed be the name of the Lord,
by Friday they had changed their chance to crucify him.
They, the Sanhedrin, were proud.
And I think that in their minds,
they took credit for all that.
They managed to change the people's minds in a matter of hours.
They were proud.
They felt strong.
And here before them stood mere followers of a leader that they had already done away with.
They were not scared of the apostles and they were not scared of the people.
Now we read in verse 26 that the captain of the police and his men were scared of the people,
but not the Sanhedrin.
They were not scared of the people or the apostles.
They were corrupt and smart politicians.
They knew how to play the people.
They knew how to get what they wanted.
Now my second reason is from scripture.
Because scripture tells me that they didn't even fear God.
And if they didn't fear God,
I don't think they feared his messengers.
But I do believe that their jealousy towards the apostles stemmed from fear.
Fear of the Roman Empire.
Now why do I say that?
This is where I want to navigate above and away from our text
and quickly brush over about 600 years worth of history, of Jewish history.
So bear with me.
But I'm doing this because I want you to get a better feel for what the apostles were standing up against
as they stood before that council of 71 politicians.
And I hope that this doesn't feel too out of the way from our text, from our context.
And I promise you that I believe it has its purpose well within our text this morning.
So the history of the Jews, and I'm going to try to move kind of quickly here.
So you may not want to write notes.
You may just want to sit and listen so you get a good picture.
But if you want to write notes, it's up to you.
So the history of the Jews is filled with a lot of war and violence.
And starting in about 589 B.C., which is a little over 600 years before Acts chapter 5,
where we find ourselves this morning,
the Babylonian Empire under King Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem,
destroyed the temple, killed many Jews, and took thousands captive.
We read about this in Jeremiah 52.
And this is the same King Nebuchadnezzar who we read of in the book of Daniel
who gets the dream of a great statue of a man who Daniel interprets for us as prophecy in the book of Daniel chapter 2.
The interpretation is given in Daniel chapter 2 that the statue represents five kingdoms.
The first one, Daniel says, to King Nebuchadnezzar represents him in the Babylonian Empire.
Now throughout the rest of the book of Daniel, the other kingdoms are described,
and Daniel lays out with such specific detail the course of events with world powers to come.
And it's just exciting to see the veracity of God's word through the course of history,
as prophesied in the Old Testament, hundreds of years before any of this came to pass.
Now, after being under Babylonian rule for some time,
the Jews came under Persian rule after Cyrus the Great defeated the Babylonian Empire.
And at the start of the intertestamental period,
we find the Jews under Persian rule, which is the second of the five kingdoms.
Now, in the intertestamental period, which is the 400 years between the closing of the Old Testament
and the beginning of the New Testament,
which is also referred to as the 400 years of silence,
because God no longer spoke to his people in those 400 years,
God continues, however, to sovereignly and providentially direct the course of history in the making.
And so in these 400 years, the rest of the remaining empires of the prophesied dream
from Daniel chapter 2 are described and identified except for the fifth one.
Now, for about 200 years, the Jews continued under Persian rule.
They were allowed to rebuild the temple and had religious freedom.
Around 330 BC, the Persian Empire fell to the Greek Empire,
which was the third of the five kingdoms under Alexander the Great.
After Alexander's death, his generals divided his empire into two,
and two dynasties came out of that, the Ptolemies and the Seleucids.
Judea first initially fell under Ptolemic rule for about 100 years.
The Jews were economically oppressed,
but had fairly good religious freedom under the Ptolemies.
The Jews at this time also were exposed to Hellenism.
Hellenism spread, which was Greek culture, but they still had religious freedom.
Then for the next 57 years, Judea came under Seleucid rule,
under Antiochus Epiphanes,
and that level of freedom drastically, drastically changed.
Antiochus placed the high priest of his choosing,
a man by the name of Jason, possibly a Greek,
not even a Jewish man, or at the least a Greek supporter.
He then issues a decree that all nations under his rule
should abandon their own customs and become one people.
He launched a fierce attack against the Jews,
plundered Jerusalem and set many buildings on fire,
had any copies of the Old Testament that he could find burned,
forced Jews to eat pork,
prevented them from observing the Sabbath,
prevented the circumcision of boys,
to the point that they would go around and check,
and if any boy was found to be circumcised,
the mother would be killed,
the child would be killed,
and the child would then be hung around the neck of the mother.
Pagan worship exploded in Jerusalem at this time.
Antiochus even had the title,
Theos Antiochus Theos Epiphanes,
inscribed on the currency,
which translates to Antiochus, God Manifest.
All this led to a 24-year war
led by a Jew named Judah Maccabee.
The war was called the Maccabean Revolt.
The Jews won and gained their freedom.
The Maccabees then established the Hasmonian dynasty in Israel.
The Jews had peace that lasted for a very short time,
and the Seleucid Empire once again attacked Jerusalem,
and this was around 129 B.C.
At this point,
leadership of the Hasmonian dynasty had changed
due to the first leader of the Hasmonian dynasty
being assassinated by his own son-in-law.
In a short period of time of about 37 years,
the Hasmonian dynasty had four different kings.
The fourth one, Alexander Gennas,
by that point,
Hellenism had spread deep into the Hasmonian kingdom,
which was the very thing that they fought against.
King Alexander Gennas took upon himself
both office of king and priest,
high priest,
and the conservative political party at the time,
the Pharisees,
demanded that he choose either or.
The king refused and sided with
and was supported by the Sadducees.
Shortly after,
a disagreement during the Feast of Tabernacles
led the king,
Alexander Gennas,
to have 6,000 Jews
massacred in the temple courtyard.
This event was a cause to the start
of a six-year civil war
in Jerusalem,
within Judea,
where 50,000 Judeans were killed.
And Josephus writes that this Sadduceean king,
Alexander,
had 800 Pharisees
arrested
and then had their wives and children's throats
cut in front of them
right before executing them as well.
After Alexander died,
his wife became queen of Judea.
After she died,
her son,
Heracanus,
became the rightful heir
of the Hasmonian kingdom.
And he was in favor of the Pharisees.
However,
his little brother,
Aristobulus,
who was more popular
and was in favor of the Sadducees,
rebelled against his big brother.
In yet another civil war,
Heracanus surrendered for the time being
and Aristobulus became king.
Now,
when we get to around 65 to 63 BC,
the fourth kingdom of Daniel's prophecy,
the one that is successor to the Greek Empire,
comes to the scene as the Roman Republic,
soon to become the Roman Empire.
So,
the Romans conquer the Greeks
and around this time,
Heracanus starts another,
another civil war,
to try to get his kingdom back
from his little brother.
Now,
there were so many moving pieces here
and true conspiracies
that led
to this continued civil war
between these Jewish brothers.
But for the sake of time,
I'm going to have to skip all those details.
However,
the two brothers
both ended up going to General Pompey,
a Roman military general
who just months earlier
had marched into Syria,
overpowered their kingdom
and made it into a Roman province.
Pompey originally sided with Aristobulus,
the younger brother,
which led to a crushing defeat
of Heracanus' allies' army.
But then,
Pompey changes his mind,
decides that he wants to take over Judea,
and thought that Heracanus,
the older brother,
would instead be easier to control
than Aristobulus.
So,
Pompey changes sides
and backs Heracanus now instead.
Pompey then fights against Aristobulus,
and Aristobulus surrenders to Pompey.
And in 63 BC,
Pompey marched into Jerusalem,
where he met more opposition
from the Sadducees.
And after a several-month siege,
which resulted in a good bit
of death and destruction,
and as Josephus puts it,
12,000 Jews were slaughtered,
with only a few Roman troops being killed.
The Jews lost their short-lived independence
and came under the rule
of the Roman Republic.
Pompey reinstalled Heracanus as high priest.
Now,
within the Roman Republic at this time,
there was also a lot of instability.
After his victory in Jerusalem,
Pompey returns to Rome,
and the first triumvirate
was established
by three men
who became
the most powerful men
in the Republic.
Pompey being one of them,
Marcus Crassus,
and Julius Caesar.
Not long after,
there was a civil war
which broke out
between Caesar and Pompey.
And the whole Heracanus
and Aristobulus thing
surfaced again
because Caesar
wanted to restore the kingdom
to Aristobulus,
the little brother.
Pompey's people,
knowing this,
then had Aristobulus
killed.
Heracanus and his closest ally,
Antipater,
were ready to fight
with Pompey
against Caesar.
However,
when Pompey was killed,
they switched sides
and helped Caesar.
Caesar then became
the sole dictator
of the Republic.
Caesar,
thankful for the help
of Heracanus and Antipater,
allowed Heracanus
to remain high priest
and gave Antipater
rule of Judea
by making him
procurator of Judea.
Now, one of Antipater's sons
is known to you
as King Herod,
who was later appointed
king of the Jews
by the Romans
and was the one
who had all the young boys
murdered at the time
of the birth of Jesus.
Now, Julius Caesar
is assassinated
and his adopted son
and heir,
Octavian,
joins forces
with Mark Antony
in what was called
the Second Triumvirate.
Now, not long after,
they turned
against one another
in yet another civil war.
Octavian won the war
and became Augustus,
the first emperor
and founder
of the Roman Empire.
Jesus was born
during the reign of Augustus.
So you can see
there was much war
surrounding
and even within Judea
up to this point
and even more
that I don't have time
to get into.
So why am I telling you
all this?
A few reasons.
First, history is important.
Also, I hope it gives you
a better picture,
but more importantly,
related to our text
this morning
to answer the question,
why were the Sanhedrin
afraid of the Roman Empire?
Now, here's where
I was going with all this.
In 63 BC,
the year that the Romans
took over Judea,
perhaps the most powerful
man in Rome
was a man
by the name of Cicero,
being that he was
the highest elected official
official of the Republic
along with one other guy.
The Romans had a law
that is referred to
as the Edict of Religio Licita,
which means the Edict
of Permitted Religion.
Listen to what Cicero writes
around this time
in his book entitled
On the Laws.
He writes,
and I quote,
Close quote.
Now, a few years later,
listen to what Gaius
Macenus,
Emperor Augustus' advisor,
said to Augustus,
probably within a few years
of Jesus' birth.
He tells him,
Honor the gods
in every way
according to the usage
of your ancestors
and compel others
to worship them.
Hate and punish
those who introduce
strange gods,
not only for the sake
of the gods,
but because those
who introduce
new gods
engage a multitude
of persons
in foreign laws
and customs.
From hence
arise unions
bound by oaths
and confederacies
and associations.
Things dangerous
to a monarchy.
Close quote.
Now, let me wrap up
this bird's eye view thing
and show you from Scripture
why I've said
what I've said.
Turn to John chapter 11
for me.
This is a text
that Pastor Vodibach
pointed out for me
and we'll show you
how all of this history
comes together
in our text
in Acts chapter 5
this morning.
John chapter 11.
This is right after
the raising of Lazarus
and look at
verse 45
verses 45
through 48.
So,
John chapter 11
starting in verse 45
we read
Many of the Jews
therefore
who had come
with Mary
and had seen
what he did
believed in him.
But some of them
went to the Pharisees
and told them
what Jesus had done.
So the chief priests
and the Pharisees
gathered the council
and said
what are we to do?
For this man
performs many signs.
If we let him
go on like this
everyone will believe
in him
and the Romans
will come
and take away
both our place
and our nation.
Do you see that?
Jesus
and then the apostles
were preaching
Christianity
a new religion
that was not
sanctioned
and officially
brought in
by Rome.
And because Rome
saw new religions
as the rise of unions
bound by oaths
and confederacies
and associations
things dangerous
to a monarchy
the great Sanhedrin
wealthy
and power hungry
was scared
that the preaching
of a new religion
would bring about
the wrath
not of God
but of the Roman Empire
and take their power
and wealth
away from them.
Brothers
the love of money
is a root
of all kinds
of evil
but the root
of all kinds
of evil
including the root
of persecution
is idolatry
a violation
of the first
and second commandments.
The apostles
here were preaching
against the Sanhedrin
sin
so you now have
I hope
you now have
a better picture
of what they were
standing up against.
They all knew
the Roman stance
on their religion
very well.
The apostles
likely knew
very well
that this was
what they were
standing up against.
They knew the risk.
These men
had crucified
their Lord
out of their own
greed and idolatry
and even so much
blood
had been spilled
in the very ground
upon which they
stood to be tried
yet they trusted
and were obedient
and they preached
the truth
in love
and they put
the mirror
of God's law
in front
of the court's
face
and called
them out
on their sin.
Peter says
Jesus
whom you killed
and the Sanhedrin
hiding their guilt
say
you intend
to bring
this man's
blood
upon us.
For those of you
who don't know
I used to be
a police
canine officer
I had an awesome
mean looking
beautiful
German shepherd
and when we
did bite training
we always
trained the dogs
that if the
handler was
attacked
they were to
attack back
and that without
even the need
of a command
to bite
that's how they
were trained
it was partly
out of instinct
if the dog
sees his master
attacked
he will attack
the attacker
and that's kind
of what we see
with persecution
because
unregenerate
people
are slaves
to their
sin
their sin
is their
master
and just
like if you
mess with a
dog's master
you are likely
to get bit
if you mess
with someone's
sin
you are likely
to be
persecuted
and so that
brothers and
sisters
is the root
cause
of persecution
and the apostles
were obedient
godliness
was manifested
in that obedience
and persecution
necessarily
followed
for persecution
was birthed
out of an
idolatrous
heart
enslaved to
sin
and nothing
has changed
almost 2,000
years later
if you preach
the gospel
people may still
want to kill you
and while they
don't have the fear
of losing everything
to the roman empire
they do fear the
police
and losing
everything
by going to
prison
but what has
changed
is in the
political realm
the lord has
made our
field
so much
easier
to labor
in
he has
provided
so much
protection
for his
workers
in the
institution
of our
government
we can't
be flogged
or killed
for preaching
according to
the law
and we even
have the law
on our side
when it comes
to preaching
in our
right to
freedom
of speech
so our
field is
easier to
labor in
yet the
lord's
words
still ring
true
that the
harvest is
plentiful
but the
laborers
are few
now
kind of
out of
time
out of
time
so i
will leave
you with
this
i urge
all of
you
to examine
your hearts
we should
be bold
in our
proclamation
of the gospel
for our
field to
labor in
it's not a
particularly
painstakingly
arduous one
to labor
in
i agree
with what
nathan
said that
at the
very least
we should
be experiencing
persecution
in the
form of
persecution
of our
ego
but i
think nathan
would also
agree with
me that
your ego
should not
be primarily
persecuted by
others but
should be
primarily first
and foremost
persecuted by
yourselves
as you renew
your minds
as you die
to yourself
as you pick
up your cross
daily to
follow him
every one of
us christians
is called
to live
godly
lives
and to
boldly
proclaim
that which
we which
we have
been entrusted
with and
made ambassadors
of and if
we are obedient
to this call
then persecution
will in some
way necessarily
follow but do
understand that
persecution is
not the goal it
is simply a
byproduct of
godliness
may we all
be found
worthy to
suffer for
him who
suffered all
on our
behalf and
may we all
live our
lives without
wasting them
that is my
prayer this
morning and
i close with
this quote
from john
jawit
a british
preacher from
the early
1900s
he says
it is
possible to
evade a
multitude of
sorrows by
the cultivation
of an
insignificant
life
indeed if
it be a
man's ambition
to avoid the
troubles of
life the
recipe is
perfectly
simple
let him
shed his
ambitions in
every direction
let him cut
the wings of
every soaring
purpose and
let him
assiduously
cultivate a
little life
with the
fewest
correspondences
and relations
by this means
a whole
continent of
afflictions will
be escaped and
will remain
unknown
but if we
follow the
way of
sacrificial life
and service
it may bring
us into a
fiery furnace
of suffering
but in the
midst of the
fire there
shall be one
like unto
the son of
God
let's pray