The Message and Messengers of Life

THE MESSAGE AND MESSENGERS OF LIFE 

An Exposition of Acts 5:12-42

By Pastor Brian Wilbur

Date: April 20, 2025

Series: The Book of Acts; Resurrection Sunday

Note: Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION

Good morning. Today truly is the day that the Lord has made. And our Lord Jesus Christ is seated on his throne, and His Gospel is on the move. And I hope that his Gospel is on the move in you, and that you are on the move with the Gospel and with the work that God is doing in this world.

I invite you to turn to the Book of Acts, chapter 5. The next sermon text in the Acts series fits very well for Resurrection Sunday.

It is a great privilege on this day to proclaim the glory of the resurrection. And proclaiming the glory of the resurrection includes both proclaiming the fact of the resurrection of Christ, but it also means proclaiming the impact of the resurrection of Christ. And we see both in Acts, chapter 5, verses 12 through 42. So let me go ahead and read God's word beginning in Acts, chapter 5, verse 12.

THE SCRIPTURAL TEXT

Holy Scripture says:

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. ¹³ None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. ¹⁴ And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, ¹⁵ 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. ¹⁶ The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

¹⁷ But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy ¹⁸ they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. ¹⁹ But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, ²⁰ “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” ²¹ 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. ²² But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported, ²³ “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.” ²⁴ Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to.²⁵ And someone came and told them, “Look! The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.” ²⁶ Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.

²⁷ And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, ²⁸ 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.” ²⁹ But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. ³⁰ The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. ³¹ God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. ³² And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

³³ When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. ³⁴ 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 men outside for a little while.³⁵ And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. ³⁶ For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing.³⁷ 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. ³⁸ 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; ³⁹ 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, ⁴⁰ 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. ⁴¹ Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. ⁴² And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus. (Acts 5:12-42)

This is God's holy word. Let us pray:

Father, we thank you for the written word of God, the reliable record of your mighty deeds that you have done to bring salvation to your people. Father, I pray that on this day that you would open our hearts and our minds to receive your word, to be transformed and strengthened by your grace. In Jesus’ name I pray. amen.

WALKING THROUGH THE PASSAGE

The impact of the apostles is growing (v. 12-16)

Well, let's walk through this passage. We begin with verses 12 to 16, where the impact of the apostles is growing.

This gospel movement has been growing since chapter two. And again, it's good for us to remind ourselves how unlikely the events of chapter five are if we were to just rewind several months to that – to day two – to that Holy Saturday sandwiched between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, when the disciples were dejected and downcast and sorrowful. They had pinned all their hopes on Jesus as the Messiah and as the hope of Israel and as the one who would fulfill the promises of God from the Old Testament. And their Rabbi was dead. And if you could zoom in on that scene of the sorrowful disciples on that Holy Saturday, we would have thought these men are not good candidates to be at the forefront of a movement that is capturing the city of Jerusalem. And yet here we are. The Lord rose from the dead. The disciples came to realize that that had been the plan all along and that Jesus had come to bring a salvation that was far greater than salvation from Rome or salvation from political enemies or social problems, but rather from sin and death. And now with the joy and power of the resurrected Lord and the gift of the Holy Spirit, now these very men who were once sorrowful, their sorrow had turned to joy, and now they're fearless and courageous and faithfully proclaiming the word of the Lord.

And in verses 12 to 16, their impact is growing considerably. The Lord was performing signs and wonders through them, right in answer to the way that they had prayed in chapter 4, verses 29 and 30. In Acts 4:29, they prayed for boldness in preaching the Gospel. And in Acts 4:30, they prayed that God would stretch out his hand and perform healings, signs and wonders in the name of Jesus. And that's exactly what's going on here. Signs, wonders, healings, people being delivered from affliction by demons.

And it says right there in verse 14 that “more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women”. There was obviously a tension that people felt, that outsiders felt. If you look at verse 13, it says, “None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem.” It's like they're looking in upon this powerful movement that's sweeping the city, and there's opposition and tension, and Ananias and Sapphira have just been struck dead and everybody's heard about it, and yet people are getting healed and they're attracted, and yet they're cautious.[1] Wonder what's going on? But many people are being saved.

So the impact of the apostles is growing considerably.

The religious leaders oppose the apostles again (v. 17-18)

But moving to verses 17 and 18, the religious leaders oppose the apostles again and throw them into prison. You can imagine how these religious leaders were processing all of these things. It says there at the end of verse 17 that they were “filled with jealousy”. The underlying concept is they were filled with zeal, but we understand that it was misguided zeal. And the whole notion of envy and jealousy fits the scene really well.

These religious leaders are the overseers of the Jewish religious system. And someone has come into their territory, someone has come into the temple courts, and they're stealing away the hearts of the people. See, the religious leaders are at the top of the system, and they think in terms of power and influence and market share. And they're looking out and they're seeing how much popular appeal the apostles have. And people are paying attention to their teaching, and many are believing it. And all of these people are benefiting practically from their ministry as the sick are being healed and the demonized are being set free. And the religious leaders are quite upset. They're losing market share, they're losing power and influence. And besides, they had – just back in chapter four – they had ordered Peter and John not to speak anymore in the name of Jesus. And yet on they go. So they arrest the apostles – in this case, it seems like all of the apostles – and put them in prison.

The Lord authorizes a jailbreak (v. 19-25)

However, moving to verses 19 to 25, the Lord authorizes a jailbreak, orchestrates a jailbreak, and sends his apostles back into the temple courts to continue teaching the gospel.

I say jailbreak, though obviously it wasn't a forcible jailbreak. This was done with great ease, under the radar screen, the Lord opening the prison doors – an angel of the Lord opening the prison doors and guiding the apostles out. But notice they weren't rescued from prison in order to be shuttled off to safety. Sometimes people might think: ‘Oh, I hope the Lord releases them from prison. Oh, good, now they're out of prison. Now get out of situations that might get you back in prison.’ No, no, they were released from prison in order to be shuttled back into their apostolic work of preaching and teaching right in the heart of the city, at the heart of the temple.

I love the instruction in verse 20: “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.” The gospel of salvation, the message that we preach, is a message of life. It's a message of life to those who are dead in their trespasses and sins. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). The Gospel of John, chapter one, begins by telling us that, “In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:4) Jesus is the very author and substance and source of life. He's the living God, along with the Father and the Holy Spirit. And he comes with a message of life, that those who are spiritually dead might be made alive and reconciled to God, and then that they might henceforth walk in the ways of life and peace and righteousness.

And so the apostles – think about this – the apostles are participants in this great power. Of course, the power does not originate with them. The power originates from the Lord. But what is that authority and power for? It's for giving others the opportunity to have life. We leverage our authority and power and resources in Christ for the good and the welfare and the salvation of other people.

So obviously the religious leaders are perplexed that though the prison seems to be well guarded, the apostles are nowhere to be found in it. Instead, they're found exactly where they were before – in the temple courts, teaching the people (v. 25).

The religious leaders bring the apostles before their council (v. 26-32)

So, coming now to verses 26 to 32, the religious leaders bring the apostles before their leadership council, “the senate of the people”, the Sanhedrin, the leadership council, in order to interrogate the apostles. And they – they're afraid, you know – they're afraid of the people. So they don't take them forcibly (v. 26). They do it quietly because they don't want to stir up the people against them, because the people think well of these apostles and their ministry. And so they bring them before the council and they question them.

And they say, in verse 28, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name”. That's exactly the order they had given to Peter and John back in Acts, chapter four. And then verse 28 continues: “yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching”. You have obviously ignored the strict charge that we gave you! And then furthermore, at the end of verse 28: “and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us.” This is, of course, referring to Jesus. These religious leaders were especially involved in the death of Jesus, and they are essentially saying to the apostles that you're trying to bring consequences and vengeance and repayment upon us for our role in the death of Jesus. What’s interesting is that that's not what the apostles were attempting to do. But I'll get back to that in a moment.

Well, Peter and the apostles answer in verse 29: “We must obey God rather than men.” This is such a very important verse. I actually want to come back to it maybe a month from now and just do a whole sermon on this concept of how our loyalty belongs to the Lord alone. But here I just want to point out that when God gives you instruction to do something, as he had given instruction to the apostles to proclaim the gospel and to teach the way of life, and when men come along, even very powerful men, even men who hold an official position, as these religious leaders did within the religious system of Israel, and when those men give contradictory instruction, it's not a difficult choice. “We must obey God rather than men”! God's authority far outweighs, infinitely outweighs, any relative authority or power that men might have. And so we must always go God's way. We belong to Him.

And no sooner do they say that, that they articulate once again the heart of the Gospel message: “The God of our fathers raised Jesus,” there in verse 30, “whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.” It is true that these religious leaders really were guilty. They bore moral guilt for the death of Jesus. They were rightly under the judgment of God for their sin.

However, here's the thing that I want you to see. The apostles were messengers of life. They were not coming in order to bring judgment upon these religious leaders. God would bring judgment upon them in due course if they didn't repent. But the apostles came offering salvation and forgiveness. It says in verse 31: God exalted him [Jesus] at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.” The religious leaders are concerned that the apostles intended to bring this man's blood upon them in terms of guilt and vengeance and punishment. Actually, the heartbeat of the apostles was that the blood of Jesus would come upon them and everyone else within the sound of their ears in a completely different way – not that they would be judged under the moral guilt of their sin, but rather that they would be forgiven of the guilt of their sin because of the power of the blood of Jesus, and the fact that he bore our curse on the tree, so that everyone who turned to him would be set free from sin and would be forgiven and would be restored to fellowship with God.

So the apostles are bearing witness to these things, especially to the resurrection of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit is bearing witness to these things – as they say also in verse 32 – “whom God has given to those who obey him.” Just think about that. Here you have the established religious leaders of Israel, and yet, even though they hold this official position and have all this clout, they actually are without the Holy Spirit. But then you have these followers of Jesus who had come to know Jesus, and they are walking in obedience with him. And not because of their background or training or anything like that, but because they belong to Jesus, have been brought into fellowship with God, and as a result are walking in obedience with him – they are the ones who have the Holy Spirit. They are the ones through whom the Holy Spirit is working in order to do good to the people and to bring the message of salvation.

One member of the council advises a measured approach (v. 33-41)

Well, in verse 33, you can see that the religious leaders are enraged. So enraged that they actually want to kill the apostles. But at that point, one member of the council (Gamaliel) advises the Jewish religious council to cool their jets, to take a more measured approach (v. 34-39).

And here's basically how Gamaliel argues. Of course, they send the apostles out of the room (v. 34), and he says, Look, these kinds of movements arise all the time, and they usually come to nothing. He mentions Theudas (v. 36), and Judas the Galilean (v. 37). These guys, there are going to be political revolutionaries or religious revolutionaries. They are going get a following – and they get a little following, and then they die., and it all comes to nothing. And you don't have to do anything. It'll just – if it’s of man – it'll just die out.

But of course, we know that something much bigger is going on here. When Theudas died, it says that “all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing.” That's verse 36. And then in verse 37, it says that when Judas “perished, … all who followed him were scattered.” And that reminds me of what Jesus said in the Gospels. He said, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’” (Mark 14:27) When the leader is struck down or dies or is killed, then the followers are scattered. But of course, Gamaliel doesn't realize what we're actually dealing with here. Jesus did die and his followers were scattered – Jesus is the Shepherd who was struck, and His sheep were temporarily scattered. But then Jesus rose from the dead. And now we're dealing with the resurrection power of God. And so now we're dealing with a movement and a power – and ultimately with the will and plan of God that will necessarily succeed, and that will never be brought to a place of scattering or a place of dispersion again.[2]

But anyway, Gamaliel is just saying, Look, if this is of man, it'll come to nothing (v. 38). “But if it is of God,” then there's nothing you can do about it: you won't be able to overthrow it, and you might even make yourselves enemies of God – “You might even be found opposing God!” (v. 39) “So they took his advice” (v. 39).

They brought the apostles back in and they beat them, they flogged them – it was a very intense beating. And then they “let them go”, charging them once again “not to speak in the name of Jesus” (v. 40).

The apostles rejoice in their sufferings (v. 41)

Now, in verse 41, we get a beautiful window into the spiritual health and life at work in the apostles. It says, “Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.”

This is a remarkable thing. It is not a natural response to an intense physical beating or an intense flogging, along with additional threats, having just briefly been in prison again and facing these religious bigwigs – it is not a normal response to be thrilled with joy. And yet they are thrilled with joy. And the reason is because they are in fellowship with Jesus. They know that Jesus is the Leader and Savior of Israel, the One who is seated at the right hand of God. And they know that they are called to follow him. And being called to follow him includes sharing in his suffering. And Jesus himself had taught them that they should rejoice when they are persecuted, they should rejoice when they are maligned, they should rejoice when they are opposed. Because that is how the world always treats God's prophets. That is how the world treated Jesus. That is how the world treats Jesus. And if you really love Jesus and you're really glad to be on his team and to be part of his family, then those sufferings that you endure for his sake become part of your testimony. It becomes part of God's stamp of approval upon you. They feel privileged to suffer for the name of Jesus.

The gospel continues to move forward (v. 42)

And then, in verse 42, obviously the gospel continues to move forward through the teaching and preaching of the apostles.

LEARNING FROM THE CONTRAST BETWEEN THE APOSTLES AND THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS

I want you to think about how free the apostles were, as they demonstrate here in verse 41 and in their actions in verse 42. The natural sinful bent is to prioritize earthly comfort and earthly security. And yet Jesus calls us to something far greater. And I think we can do a little contrast here between the religious leaders and the apostles, that might help us to see the power of the salvation that Jesus brings.

Our passage began with many people being healed of their physical diseases. It is easy for the risen Christ to heal anyone of a physical disease or a physical disability. It is not difficult for him to do. He can also deliver anyone from unclean spirits. He has total power and authority over the spirit world. When the apostles were in prison, the Lord orchestrated a jailbreak. It's not difficult for the Lord to get you out of any physically debilitating circumstance, whether that's literally prison or something else. It's very easy for the Lord to orchestrate a change in your circumstances.

But what I see here in the middle of this passage and in the heart of this passage is that there is another kind of bondage and another kind of imprisonment that is far worse. And that goes right inside to the depths of the sinner's heart. And this is why, you know, Jesus came not mainly for the physical healing, not mainly for the jailbreaks or changes in our physical or outward circumstances, but he came mainly – there in verse 31 – “to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.”

Because when we are in bondage to sin, that means that we are out of fellowship with God. We don't have the joy of the Lord. We don't have the peace of God. We don't have the security of knowing that God is for us and that he's orchestrating and directing our lives. And being in bondage to sin keeps us tethered to the fear of death, and rightly so, because if we die in our sins, the only thing that we get on the other side of death is to face the righteous judgment of a holy God who will call us to account for our sins. And if we're not covered under the blood of Jesus, if we haven't experienced salvation through Christ, then we will be left to fend for ourselves at the bar of God's justice – and it will not go well.

And the religious leaders illustrate for us very well what it is like to be imprisoned and in bondage to their sin. What do they really care about? They really care about themselves. They really care about their position, power and influence. They really care about being liked by the people. And what's going on in their hearts? Jealousy, rage, murderous rage. What are their weapons? Threats, rods, whips. And life isn't working out for them. It's frustrating. They're trying to manage their own little life and their own little world and their own little system, so that it will work for them. And it's not working.[3] Inwardly, they're a mess. Outwardly, their life isn't working, and it's because they're in bondage to sin. Can you imagine if they were the ones who had been thrown into prison? Can you imagine if they were the ones who were being threatened by a higher authority? Can you imagine if they were the ones who were beaten? You think they would have walked out full of joy? No.

But the apostles, and really every believer, are different. Do you realize what is involved in being set free from sin. If you're set free from sin, then you no longer bear guilt before God because Jesus has removed that guilt. That means the fear of death gets broken. Your well-being is no longer found in the stuff of this world. It doesn't matter whether you have a big house or a little house or you're in prison. It doesn't really matter whether you're outwardly comfortable or uncomfortable, because you've been set free, you have peace with God, the joy of the Lord is at work in your life, His Holy Spirit is empowering you on the path of obedience to do his will and to represent his character and to proclaim his message. And what can people do to you?

Some of you may remember, if you're familiar with the book The Insanity of God. It's a wonderful book, and if you haven't read it, I encourage you to read it. But the author – he is a Christian – studied Christians who were suffering persecution in some of the hardest places of the world, like the former Soviet Union and China. And he was interacting with some Christians in China, and they described to him the wonderful freedom that they had in Christ – freedom to disregard the threats of men and to live freely and fully as Christ's faithful servants. And these believers in China painted this picture for him, and for us. And I quote:

“The security police regularly harass a believer who owns the property where a house-church meets. The police say, “You have got to stop these meetings! If you do not stop these meetings, we will confiscate your house, and we will throw you out into the street.”

Then the property owner will probably respond, “Do you want my house? Do you want my farm? Well, if you do, then you need to talk to Jesus because I gave this property to Him.”

The security police will not know what to make of that answer. So they will say, “We don’t have any way to get to Jesus, but we can certainly get to you! When we take your property, you and your family will have nowhere to live!”

And the house-church believers will declare, “Then we will be free to trust God for shelter as well as for our daily bread.”

“If you keep this up, we will beat you!” the persecutors will tell them.

“Then we will be free to trust Jesus for healing,” the believers will respond.

“And then we will put you in prison!” the police will threaten.

By now, the believers’ response is almost predictable: “Then we will be free to preach the good news of Jesus to the captives, to set them free. We will be free to plant churches in prison.”

“If you try to do that, we will kill you!” the frustrated authorities will vow.

And, with utter consistency, the house-church believers will reply, “Then we will be free to go to heaven and be with Jesus forever.””[4]

The religious leaders, representing every unconverted sinner, they are not free. They are in bondage to sin and death and the judgment of God and the prospect of hell. And they're just frantically trying to keep their earthly life together.

Those who trust in Jesus Christ are free. Free of jealousy, free of rage, free of the frantic angst. Free to love, free to live, free to serve, free to suffer, free to go, free to take risks, free to die.

In the words of a well-known hymn:

“No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand”[5]

And I ask you – really, every one of you – there's no middle ground: you are either in bondage to sin and tethered to the fear of death like the religious leaders, or you are free.

And if you're here this morning, and if you're not free, I invite you to come to Jesus Christ. The apostles didn't come to bring bloodguilt upon the religious leaders. They came to offer them life and forgiveness and peace and a fresh start. And in Jesus’ name, I offer you the same thing. Come to Jesus humbly, and he will not turn you away.

Let's pray:

Father, I pray that your message of life would fill the hearts of this people. I pray that your message of life would fill this sanctuary and fill our homes and fill western Maine. I pray that every man and woman and child would reckon with the life and power of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that they would be drawn to him for salvation. Father, I pray that your gospel would be on the move through us, and that we would be on the move with the gospel – wherever you send us and whatever you call us to do. In Jesus’ name, amen.

ENDNOTES

[1] Patrick Schreiner, Acts (Christian Standard Commentary). Holman Reference, 2022: p. 199-200.

[2] Ibid., p. 209-210.

[3] Ibid., p. 204-205.

[4] Nik Ripken, with Gregg Lewis, The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected. I have listened to the audio version of this book. I pulled the exact quotation from another source that quoted from The Insanity of God – see Trevin Wax, “We Will Be Free: How Oppressed Christians Answer Totalitarian Threats”, published November 2, 2013 by The Gospel Coalition and available online: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/trevin-wax/we-will-be-free-how-oppressed-christians-answer-totalitarian-threats/.

[5] From the hymn “In Christ Alone” by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend. © 2001 Thankyou Music Ltd.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

David G. Peterson, The Acts of the Apostles (The Pillar New Testament Commentary). Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009.

Patrick Schreiner, Acts (Christian Standard Commentary). Holman Reference, 2022.

Ben Witherington III, The Acts of the Apostles: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998.