ACTS 3-4

A. Miracle and Aftermath (3:2-4:31)

1. Two-fold Reaction to a Miracle (3:2-4:4)

                          2. Question and Answer (4:5-12)

                            3. Rulers' Predicament (4:13-17)

                              4. Apostles Charged Not to Speak and Released (4:18-22)

                                5. Rejoicing (4:23-31)

B. “All things in common” (4:32-5:11)

1. Good Example: Barnabas (4:32-37)

                                                2. Bad Example: Ananias and Sapphira (5:1-11)

A'. Miracles and Aftermath (5:12-41)

1. Two-fold Reaction to Miracles (5:12-21a)

                          2. Question and Answer (5:21b-32)

                            3. Rulers' Predicament (5:33-39)

                              4. Apostles Charged Not to Speak and Released (5:40)

                                5. Rejoicing (5:41)

John Stott has said that the Holy Spirit is the main actor in Acts 1-2 while Satan is the main figure in chapters 3-6.

Acts 3:1-10

3:1 This was 3 PM, one of the designated times of prayer and the time of the daily incense sacrifice. At 

the start of Acts, we see the early church still very much part of temple worship. By the end of the 

book there will be a decisive break with Judaism. The Apostle John is only mentioned one more time 

in Acts; he is overshadowed by Peter.

3:2 See a diagram of the Temple. Most commentators assume this takes place at the Nicanor Gate, 

which led from the court of Gentiles to the court of women – a very busy area where moneychangers 

were located. It was covered with Corinthian brass and was 75 ft. high. Josephus said, “It far exceeded 

in value those gates that were plated with silver and set in gold.” The current gate was rebuilt by 

Suleiman the Magnificent around 1540.

3:2-7 We have to be prepared for God to give us more than we ask for. Sometimes we settle for less 

than what God can give us. Giving the needy what they need, not what they want.

3:6 Thomas Aquinus supposedly once visited Pope Innocent II who was counting out a large amount of 

money. The Pope said, “You see, Thomas, the Church can no longer say, 'Silver and gold have I none.'” 

Thomas replied, “True, holy father, and neither can she now say, 'Arise and walk.'”

“Name” occurs nine times in chapters 3-4.

3:7 This demonstrated Peter's personal touch as well as the touch of the Holy Spirit. John Stott: “The 

power was Christ's, but the hand was Peter's. It was not a gesture of unbelief, but of love.”

3:8 Leaping is a fulfillment of prophecy: Isaiah 35:6.

3:9 This is the fourth time in Acts that the word “walk” is used to emphasize the miraculous nature of 

the event.

3:10 “Wonder and amazement” was used by Luke earlier to describe the people's response to Jesus 

casting out a demon and healing a lame man. This parallel with the apostles indicates that death had 

not stopped Jesus' activities.

 

Acts 3:11-16

3:11 There is now a slight change of scene (see a diagram of the Temple to locate Solomon's Porch). 

There was a cloister formed from a double row of marble columns and roofed with cedar. It was the 

location for various rabbinical schools, teachings and debates.

3:12 Unlike many faith healers, Peter immediately takes the attention off himself and onto God.

3:13 The word translated as “servant” here is literally pais, or child. This word appears four times in 

chapters 3-4 to tie into the servant songs of Isaiah 52-53. This shows that Jesus could only be fully 

glorified after having been delivered up to death.

3:14-15 “Author (or Prince) of Life” is only used here for Jesus, in marked contrast to “murderer.”

3:16 It was not the magic of the name itself, but belief in the name that brought healing, as we will see 

in a later episode in Acts. Who had the faith? The Greek seems to make it clear that it was the faith of 

the apostles, not that of the cripple. Commentators Munck and Bruce disagree and say that it was the 

cripple's faith. The whole relationship between and faith and miracles is a complicated one that has no 

simple conclusion. 

 

Acts 3:17-21

3:19a Repent = to change one's mind. Barclay says, “It is easier to change your mind than to change 

your life.” That is the reason why “turn again” is added.

 3:19b Barclay also notes that repentance will change both one's past and future.

Past – “Blotted out” occurs in Greek usually with items in a ledger or account book. The ink used in 

those days didn't penetrate the papyrus so it could be erased completely with a damp sponge.

Future – “Season of refreshing” is a very unusual phrase not found elsewhere. Stott says that it seems 

to be the positive counterpart to forgiveness of sins. God doesn't just leave a vacuum but gives us a 

positive blessing.

3:20 There is a textual problem in this verse. The word may be “preached” or preferably “appointed.”

3:19-21 This is one difficult sentence. Either it refers to personal blessings from the spirit of Christ 

upon repentance (as mentioned above) or the hastening of the Second Coming. If it is the latter, then 

there are three possibilities: (a) It may be part of the teaching regarding the spread of the gospel to all 

nations before the end (Matthew 24:14), (b) the similar situation with the full number of Jews that must 

be converted afterward (Romans 11:12) or (c) an opportunity to immediately usher in the kingdom 

which the Jews missed by rejecting Jesus earlier. 

 

Acts 3:22-26

3:22-25 Peter uses arguments associated with Moses, Samuel (and subsequent prophets) and Abraham:

3:23 combines ideas found in Deuteronomy 18:19 and Leviticus 23:29.

3:25 is a conflation of Genesis 12:3 and 22:18. (Galatians 3:8 uses these same two texts in a different 

manner.)

3:26 “Raised up” refers to the historical appearance of Jesus, not his resurrection. “First” implies that 

the Gentiles will be preached to next.

 

Acts 4:1-4 Now we are introduced to some new characters on the stage.

4:1 The captain of the temple was an important Jewish official who was in charge of the temple police. 

He was second in importance only to the High Priest.

4:2 Jesus' earthly ministry and teachings brought about the greatest opposition from the Pharisees with 

their emphasis on the law.  The ministry of the risen Christ will bring about opposition mainly from the 

Sadducees, here and for the persecution described later in 5:17. We will discuss why in a minute.

4:3-5 There was no time for a trial before sundown. We know that at least in later rabbinical times, it 

was illegal to hold a trial a night, unlike with Jesus' trial.

4:4 i.e., 2,000 more were added to the 3,000 mentioned in Acts 2:41.

Acts 4:5-12

4:5-6 Actually, Caiaphas was the high priest and Annas, his father, was the former high priest who was 

still highly respected. Five of Annas' sons became high priests. Annas was the one who interrogated 

Jesus before Caiphas did. Their family tomb has been excavated (Biblical Archeology Review, 18, p.5).

4:6 It has been proposed that John (or Jonathan) is the Hebrew name of Theophilus. He was later 

deposed by Herod Agrippa. Priests were called “most excellent” during this time period.

4:7 The Greek closes with “you.” This indicates a contemptuous tone (“people like you”). The reason 

for the question was probably Deuteronomy 13:1-5 (One can tell a false prophet or wonder-worker if 

he urges the people to follow other gods), but God was given the glory so they could not convict them.

4:8 “Filled” – The Greek tense shows it is an act performed on Peter, not a continuing state. It was a 

fulfillment of the prophecy in Matthew 10:19-2 that they need not worry what to say when they are 

brought up before authorities.

4:11 Peter quotes Psalm 118:22 and states that they are the builders being talked about there. This is 

another example of boldness. His defense is actually an attack on his accusers.

4:10-12 Peter makes a natural transition from physical to spiritual healing (salvation).

4:12 Discuss salvation by Christ only. Are there any other things involved in salvation?

 

Acts 4:13

“Ignorant” originally meant without official credentials. My brother-in-law once introduced himself to 

a visiting preacher and sked him a theological question. The preacher asked him what he did for a 

living. When the reply was that he was a woodworker, the preacher dismissed him with a sneer and 

said, “Oh, a man of the trades.” The apostles had not been to a rabbinical school but they had attended 

the school of Jesus. This incident reminds us of the time Jesus taught in the synagogue and they were 

amazed because “he spoke as one having authority.”

 

Keep in mind that this was a common fisherman standing before a group of men that Barclay calls “the 

wealthiest, the most intellectual and the most powerful in the land.” I think of Martin Luther standing 

at the Diel of Wurms saying, “I can do no other.”

 

“To speak with boldness” – The word originally belonged to the sphere of politics: the right of a full 

citizen to express his opinions in a public assembly. The comparable Hebrew word was rarely used 

except as applied to God Himself. In the gospels, it is applied to Jesus. In Acts it is used of the apostles 

to denote their fearless and authoritative speaking. The verb appears seven times in the book. The noun 

is used five times, including the very last verse in Acts.

 

How do we appropriate boldness? It is ultimately a gift of the Holy Spirit (4:31). It must be asked for 

(4:29), and from the epistles we learn that confidence before God “contains the ideas of trust in God, 

certainty of salvation, the conquest of the consciousness of sin, sanction and power to pray, and 

expectation of the future (Dictionary of NT Theology).”

 

Lloyd Ogilvie (Drumbeat of Love, pp. 54-56) lists six reasons for the boldness of the apostles:

1. The fact of the Resurrection meant that death was not an ending, only a transition.

2. Because Jesus was alive and with them, they feared no one.

3. The miracle proved to them that the power of Christ was at work in them.

4. They were anchored in the Scriptures rather than just their own subjective ideas.

5. They were filled with the Holy Spirit.

6. They knew “not just that Jesus saves but that only Jesus saves. An exclusion led to a bold 

inclusiveness.”

 

Acts 4:14-31

4:17 When the apostles' good deeds can't be denied or stopped, the government demands that it not be 

done in the name of Christ so that at least He will not get the credit for it. Any parallels today? Why 

did the authorities not react in a more positive way if they admitted that a miracle had indeed been 

performed” (maintain status quo, it threatened their belief system, authority, vested interests and 

privileges?) Are we so different today?

4:21 “Punish” – The meaning here may be related to the original usage of the word: to prune or keep in 

check. Barclay points out the evidence that the Sanhedrin had: the fact of the miracle, Peter's boldness, 

their experience with the risen Christ, and their absolute loyalty to God. The Sanhedrin, composed of 

mainly Sadducees, was afraid of the people and did not have the popular support that the Pharisees 

possessed.

4:25 “Rage” is found only here in the NT. The word originally meant to neigh or snort like a haughty 

horse giving itself airs, but who will eventually have to submit to the reins.

4:25-26 Psalm 2 originally applied to Gentile opponents of God's people. Here the Jewish leaders are 

the opponents of God: a sobering lesson for us today.

4:24-30 The ultimate source of boldness of the early church came from an absolute belief in the 

absolute power of God over all the affairs of man. The response of the church was not to fear the 

authorities at all. It was like Luther when a papal envoy warned him that all his followers would soon 

desert him and “Where will you be then?” Luther's reply was, “Then as now, in the hands of God.”

“You made (v. 24)” – God of creation; “You spoke (v. 25)” – God of revelation; “You decided (v. 28)” -

God of history.

4:29-30 Notice the content of the petition – not for safety in the face of opposition, but boldness to 

continue speaking and acting. “Consider their threats,” not “remove them.”

4:31 This was not a new baptism of the Holy Spirit, but a fresh infilling, according to most 

commentators. One charismatic preacher was taken to task for constantly stating that he had just been 

filled by the Holy Spirit. “Why was that necessary?,” he was asked. The preacher's reply was: 

“Confidentially, I leak a lot.” That is certainly true of many of us.

Note that the giving of the Holy Spirit was the result of their prayer for boldness, not to receive the 

Holy Spirit. Bruner says that nowhere in Acts do people pray to receive the Holy Spirit. It might be a 

good exercise to examine the Scriptures to see if he is correct.