Sermon September 16, 2018
Overview
Triggered by the Gospel
In Acts 5:33, the Sanhedrin is "enraged" by the apostles' preaching—so triggered they want to commit murder. What set them off? Peter's bold proclamation in Acts 5:29-32: "We must obey God rather than any human authority." The apostles named the council's sin in crucifying Jesus, declared that God exalted Him as Leader and Savior to grant repentance and forgiveness, and announced that the Holy Spirit had been given to those who obey God. The very gospel that could have saved the council was the gospel that enraged them. The truth was right in front of them, and they pushed it aside for the sake of their anger.
Gamaliel's Counsel
Into that fury steps Gamaliel, a respected teacher of the law, who calls for a cool-down Acts 5:34-39. He cites two failed movements—Theudas and Judas the Galilean—whose followers scattered when their leaders died. His logic is simple but weighty: "If this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them—in that case you may even be found fighting against God." Gamaliel was close to the truth, but he stopped short of surrendering to the Spirit. Still, his test stands: human movements collapse; what God appoints cannot be stopped. The apostles' message proved legitimate precisely because it was God's word, not theirs.
The Legitimate Word
The same gospel the apostles preached fills Scripture and is given to us today: Christ crucified, risen, ascended, and returning. We see it in Acts 2:32-36, Acts 4:10-12, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, Galatians 3:13-14, Ephesians 2:4-5, Colossians 2:13-14, and Titus 3:4-7. Anything other than Jesus Christ crucified, resurrected, ascended, and returning is of human effort and will not endure. Counterfeit movements—humanism, scientism, new ageism, self-styled prophecy—may seem to flourish, but they will fail. The word from God will not.
You Cannot Help But Speak
After being flogged, the apostles left "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 the Christ is Jesus" Acts 5:41-42. The message was too good, too important, to keep silent. The same Spirit given to them has been given to you in your baptism. Salvation is yours—and so is the calling and the privilege to share it. When you speak Jesus to others, it is not your own effort or design; it is the Spirit working through you. Go forth, and never cease to proclaim Christ. That is very good news.
Transcript
In our modern day, we talk a lot about people getting triggered, getting really, really upset. 0s
It's when something is so upsetting that you fly off the handle. 9s
You lose all reason, all peace of mind, and you are just so angry that you act out in your emotions. 13s
And I think about that with road rage. 23s
I remember when I lived in Houston, there was an incident not far from where we lived, 25s
where two drivers, apparently on a side road, had been cutting one another off, just not being kind to one another in traffic. 31s
And they were at a stop light and they had some harsh words exchanged. 39s
And the driver of one truck was so angry, so triggered that he got out of his truck, went over to the other guy's vehicle, 44s
and shot him dead, killed him because their traffic incident was so enraging, so upsetting. 53s
He just had to murder a fellow human being. 64s
Or on social media, I've seen this a lot lately, where a person will post an expressed opinion on some sort of topic, 68s
and hundreds of people who disagree feel compelled to comment with death threats, directed at the original poster, or their loved ones. 78s
They are so offended by an opinion expressed that they just are so angry and rage that they have to threaten death. 92s
They are triggered. It's incredible. Incredible. How reactive we can get to one comment, or one rude gesture, so upset that our emotions bubble over. 102s
They take over all reason, flies out the window. 116s
And this is exactly where we're picking up our text today. 121s
In verse 33, we read, when they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. 126s
The Sanhedrin, the council, is the who in this sentence, and it says that they were enraged. 135s
They weren't just angry. They weren't just upset or miffed, but they were enraged by the apostles. 142s
The anger that filled them was so great that it moved them to want to murder, Peter and the others. 152s
They were so triggered by something they heard that all reason flew out the window, and they were ready to wipe the apostles off the face of this earth. 162s
What message could they possibly have heard that would cause all of this raw anger to bubble up, 178s
because such a rage so great that it brought about murderous desires? 188s
Well, for the message, we have to jump back a couple of verses, looking at verse 29. 196s
Peter and the apostles said, we must obey God rather than any human authority. 202s
The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. 209s
God exalted him at his right hand as leader in Savior that he might give repentance to Israel for the forgiveness of sins. 215s
And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him. 224s
Now remember from last week, the proclamation that Peter has been strictly ordered not to preach. 233s
Cross, resurrection, death, you're sorry, cross, resurrection, ascension, and then in Corinthians we get the return. 241s
And here he is saying that not only did we witness this death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, but the Holy Spirit is also witness with us. 252s
And God will give the Holy Spirit to those who obey him, which we just said, we obey God over any human authority, which means that we have been given the Holy Spirit. 267s
Well, no wonder the Jewish leaders are beside themselves. 282s
They're strict orders for the apostles not to preach in that name, were blatantly disregarded. 286s
Their sin of murdering Jesus had been pointed out to them yet again. 292s
They were told that the apostles would be obedient to God before any human authority. 298s
And now they've heard that the apostles not the Jewish leadership, not the counsel, not the Sanhedrin, not these men, but the apostles have been given the Holy Spirit from God. 304s
Not obey the Jewish leadership, how dare these men, and this refusal of obedience to the Sanhedrin, the refusal to quit preaching in the temple. 323s
Well, it was just too much. 338s
The rage built within the men of the council, and they wanted to take action. 343s
The council was triggered by what they're hearing. 349s
They were triggered, but it's very interesting, very, very interesting, that they were in a tailspin of rage. 356s
When the blatant gospel was right before them, the gospel was being preached directly to them. 365s
And they were in a tailspin of rage. 377s
The very thing that could change their lives, that could suze their outrage. 380s
And they pushed it aside for the sake of their anger. 387s
Peter, from the time he began his ministry of delivering the gospel, he was not changing his story. 392s
He was not mincing words. He said, God exalted Jesus as his leader in Savior that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sin. 398s
The council could have repented. 414s
They could have really heard Peter and received full forgiveness of their sins, but they didn't want to obey God. 417s
They didn't want to obey the call of the Spirit, so they got mad. 426s
And what is some of the best advice for dealing with anger? 434s
Anyone who has ever dealt with a toddler throwing a fit knows this. 439s
Time out. Call for a moment to cool off. 445s
And here we have a group of men. So angry, they are ready to literally kill someone and upcomes a respected leader who says, 451s
We need a cooldown. We need a moment to think through this, verse 34, 461s
But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law respected by all the people stood up and ordered the men to be put outside for a short time. 469s
We read here that this rabbi, Gamaliel, was respected by all people. 480s
Clearly, he had earned the opportunity to be heard among the council and his presence. 485s
And his request to speak privately to the rest of the council without the apostles present. 491s
It's evidence that there were still cool and level-headed people present in Judaism. 498s
Gamaliel is the sound and mature voice of reason amongst those who are so vehemently opposed to the apostles. 505s
That they are ready to murder. So what does this voice of reason say? 514s
Verse 35, then he said to them, 523s
"...fellow Israelites consider carefully what you propose to do to these men." 526s
Okay, fellas. Think for just a moment in your rage you are about to break God's law. 534s
Remember, Gamaliel is a teacher of the law. He's bringing to their attention through his expertise, 544s
his wisdom, his studies, that their murderous desires, which they want to carry out, could be going against God, 552s
could be breaking that fifth commandment, which would not be good, is this the right move to murder Peter and the others for disobeying us. 560s
He's bringing that question to their attention. He brings before them a very classic thing before you act on emotion, situation, or moment. 570s
We pick back up in 35, consider carefully what you propose to do to these men. 581s
For some time ago, they used us, rose up, claiming to be somebody, a number and a number of men about 400 joined him, but he was killed. 588s
And all who followed him were dispersed and disappeared. After him, Judas, the Galilee, and rose up at the time of the census, 597s
and got people to follow him. He also perished and all who followed him were scattered. 604s
So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail. 611s
But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. In that case, you may even be found fighting against God. 624s
Here, Gamelial, in a reasonable manner, reminds the Sanhedrin of other revolts against Jewish leadership in the past. 636s
There was Thayudas, who claimed to be somebody, and we don't know if he claimed to be a new king, if he claimed to be a Messiah. 645s
We don't know exactly what he was claiming to be modern scholars disagree on which Thayudas, Gamelial is actually speaking of regardless. 654s
We know that this man that is being spoken of, let a revolt against the Jewish leaders of his time, and had a pretty large following until he was killed. 666s
When he was killed, his followers disbanded and fell off the picture, fell off the radar. They kind of went away. 678s
Gamelial's second example is Judas the Galilean. Judas rose up during the time of a census. He and his followers were part of a political movement against the taxation of the census. 688s
We weren't told how many followers he had, but just like the other revolt once Judas the Galilean died, they disbanded. 702s
They scattered. They went away. Neither of these mutines against the Jewish leadership of the past had stood. Both had failed and both died out. 712s
The point being, as Gamelial says in verse 38, if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail. 724s
But, and this is a very big but. But, if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. In that case, you may even be found fighting against God. 736s
Gamelial, a respected teacher of the law, a mature voice of reason is talking the council through a very serious aspect of their reactions to the apostles. 752s
If this message, this work that the Sanhedrin views as a rebellion within Judaism, if this work that the apostles are bringing to the Jewish people, if it is from God, there is no way that they will bring the apostles to submission. 766s
A movement of human origin won't succeed, absolutely not. But one that is appointed by Yahweh, well not only will it succeed, but it would be dangerous to attempt to thwart it. 786s
Gamelial is saying, imagine Jewish leadership, the leaders of God's chosen people acting in opposition to God. We should really avoid this. 803s
And again, we can appreciate Gamelial's expertise in that Jewish law, and he knows if this movement from the apostles is from God, it would be wrong to oppose it. 816s
So his advice is to keep away from the men. See how it plays out. See what happens to these men, to their followers, if it takes hold, if it grows. If it's another rebellion founded in human ideas and efforts, then there is nothing at all to worry about. It will die out on its own. 830s
And if it's of God, they have no chance of squashing it and would find themselves in a fight with God, which they cannot and will not win. 852s
As I was working through this text, it struck me how in many respects I get really triggered like the Jewish leadership. When I hear people proclaiming truth as found in movements such as humanism, 864s
and the scientific, new ageism, or any one practicing and preaching as a self-proclaimed prophet, I get triggered. It bothers me. 883s
Even though those movements are of human origin, they are everywhere. They're everywhere. They preach a message which is in direct opposition or rebellion to the Christian faith. 897s
And sometimes it feels like they're flourishing while the Christian church is floundering. And what really gets me is when these movements seep into the church and are passed off as more doctrine. 912s
They are not. It's not doctrine. It's not part of God's word for us. Gamalial was reminding the council that illegitimate movements had risen up before. 930s
And what the apostles taught and preached could just be another illegitimate word. But we know they preached the legitimate word of God. 945s
The proclamation made that God had put on the tongues of the apostles was consistent because the word from God is the legitimate word. Gamalial was so, so very close. He had the truth right at the tip of his tongue, but he wouldn't surrender to the spirit. 959s
We also have this truth, the truth that Jesus Christ died upon a cross in order to bear the sin of the world. Your sin, my sin, only to be resurrected by the power of the Holy Spirit, forgiving and conquering our trespasses. 986s
He ascended to his seat of glory with the Father and will return again. How do we know that this is truth? How do we know that we have the legitimate message? 1005s
We turn to Scripture. Let's turn for a sampling in Acts 2. You guys can write these down so you can go back and read over these passages throughout the week meditate on them, pray on them. 1021s
Let them be a witness to you as you witness to others. Acts 2, Jesus of Nazareth, you crucified and killed, but God raised him up. This Jesus, God raised up and of all of us are witnesses being therefore exalted at the right hand of God and having received from the Father, the promise of the Holy Spirit. 1038s
He has poured out this that you both see and hear. Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah this Jesus whom you crucified. Acts 4, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. 1061s
There is salvation in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved. 1088s
First Corinthians 15, 3 through 4, for I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures and that he was buried and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. 1097s
Galatians 3, 13 through 14, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. 1117s
For it is written cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. 1126s
Ephesians 2, 4 through 5, but God who is rich in mercy out of great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved. 1139s
Collogians 2, 13 through 14 and when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh God made you alive together with him when he forgave us all our trespasses erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. 1158s
He set this aside nailing it to the cross, tightest, three, four through seven, but when the goodness and loving kindness of God are saved you're appeared he saved us. 1178s
Not because of any works of righteousness that we had done but according to his mercy through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. 1193s
This Spirit he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior so that having been justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 1204s
I have more. I can go on the message of Jesus Christ crucified, risen, ascended, returning. 1216s
It's in the scriptures over and over and over again and I'm not the only one to have it you have it in your hands right now in that holy precious book that God exhaled for you to know him, to know his grace, to know his mercy, to know his love for you this. 1231s
This is the legitimate message that the apostles proclaimed over and over and over again and it is still the legitimate message that continues to be proclaimed anything other than Jesus Christ crucified, resurrected, ascended and returning is of human effort and will not succeed. 1258s
Let us turn back to page 107 picking up in verse 39 they the council were convinced by him and when they had called in the apostles they had them logged then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and let them go. 1288s
The council may have been convinced partly out of wanting to avoid a greater revolt by those who were sympathetic to the apostles but they respected 1310s
still punished for their disobedience to the council but they were released and before they were let go they were once again ordered to stop speaking in the name of Jesus and do you think that they were deterred? 1334s
Of course not, of course not verse 41 as they left the council they rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name and everyday in the temple and at home they did not cease to teach and proclaim Jesus as the Messiah. 1351s
The apostles were so devoted to the word that the spirit that the word that the spirit had put on their tongue that they couldn't not preach. 1373s
They had to do it. They had been arrested thrown in jail, re-arrested and flogged. All they had to do to avoid this was to not preach Jesus but they couldn't. 1386s
They couldn't. The message that they had to proclaim was too good, too wonderful, too important that they had to keep preaching and the same is true today. The message that we have from God is the same as it was for the apostles because it is the legitimate word from the Lord. 1402s
And just as the apostles couldn't not preach, would not and could not cease speaking the name of Jesus we are called by the Holy Spirit to continue preaching Christ. 1429s
And speaking in the name of Jesus is not just for pastor, I will or myself, you in your baptism, you received the Holy Spirit, you received that witness of the Holy Spirit, the witness to proclaim Jesus Christ through you. 1445s
Salvation is yours, period. It's yours, you have it. The opportunity to share the good news of salvation is yours as well. 1468s
And when you share the gospel, when you share Jesus Christ crucified, resurrected, ascended and returning, when you share that it is not of your own human will or design or effort. 1483s
It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit. So I encourage you, I urge you and I invite you to go forth, never ceasing to teach and proclaim Jesus Christ as Messiah. 1498s
Because we have the legitimate word from God that is Jesus and we are called to share that with the world and that is very, very good news. Amen. 1517s
Thank you. 1552s