Why do we resist God? Acts 3:1-4:22 October 27, 2013 (All scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Recently, in the course of my annual physical, when asked, I told my doctor that I go to the gym six days a week. He responded by explaining to me the benefits of regular exercise. Then he asked, Do you like going to the gym? I answered that I hated going to the gym. That s why I go first thing in the morning. I want to get it over with, so I can enjoy the rest of my day. Why do I hate going to the gym? I d rather rest. I have aches and pains that seem to get worse when I work out. I get bored stepping on the same cardio machines. I have a list of reasons why I don t like to work out. As I look at the reasons for my resistance to exercise, I realize they don t stand up to the benefits of exercise. Many of us feel toward God the way I feel towards exercise. We know that He is good for us, but we have a list of reasons why we d like to skip Him. But, like me with exercise, I hope that understanding why we resist God will help us embrace Him. I hope that understanding why we resist God will help us do what is good for us. If you have a Bible, please open it to Acts 3:1-4:22. We will look at these verses and consider the question, Why do we resist God? Our passage opens in 3:1 with Peter and John on their way to the temple to pray. In verse 2, we meet someone who is in their path as they head to the temple. 2 And a man who had been lame from his mother s womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple. This man was born lame. He gets around by people carrying him. He makes his living by begging. So in verse 3, he does what he has always done. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms. He is hoping for a few coins. He gets so much more. Look at verses 4-6. 4 But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, Look at us! 5 And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene walk! Peter speaks in the name of Jesus. Jesus name signifies Jesus authority. He is present and available. Remember this guy has been lame since birth. This is a big undertaking. What happens? Look at verses 7-8. 7 And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. 8 With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 1
Instantly, the strength to his feet and ankles is restored. And this guy, who has never walked, leaps. Can you imagine the exuberance of this man? His reaction catches the attention of the people around him. Look at verses 9-10. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God; 10 and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. Verse 10 says the people were filled with wonder and amazement. In verse 11, we see that the healed man clings to Peter and John. Starting in verse 12, Peter deals with the crowds desire to honor him and John. Look at verse 12. 12 But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk? Peter says, Hey, the responsibility for his healing doesn t lie with us! In verses 13-16, we find out who is responsible for this healing. 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. 14 But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses. 16 And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all. Jesus is responsible for this healing. Peter explains that the God who initiated the covenant with their forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the same God who glorified His Servant, Jesus. The use of the term servant harkens back 600 years earlier to the prophet Isaiah. God promised a servant to deliver Israel. Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise. But Peter adds that they, the crowd, were responsible for Jesus death. Even though the Roman governor, Pilate, wanted to release Jesus, they demanded Jesus execution. Peter adds that Jesus was holy and righteous. This means that Jesus was set apart by the Father and lived a sinless life. Yet, the crowd wanted Him dead. So Jesus was executed, but God raised Him to life. Peter claims that he and others were witnesses to that resurrection. This Jesus is the reason the man born lame both runs and leaps. When I was in the fourth grade, we were playing some classroom game. I got out. In a fit of anger, I turned around and punched some defenseless kid. He had a black eye for a week. I felt terrible. I was wrong. I had turned on a good kid. I had turned on an innocent kid. That feeling describes just a little of how the crowd is feeling. They turned on the wrong guy. They 2
turned on an innocent guy. They turned on the Son of God. They turned on the guy with the power to heal a guy lame from birth. Imagine you were in my shoes. I felt ashamed every time I walked in the room. That s how these people feel, ashamed. So what do they do now? Let s read verses 17-21. 17 And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also. 18 But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. 19 Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; 20 and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, 21 whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. All of this happened according to God s plan. That doesn t release them from their responsibility in Jesus death, but reassures them that God was always in control. They need to repent. This means they need to change their thinking about Jesus. Jesus is the Righteous and Holy One, sent as the Lamb of God. If they will return to God, by placing their faith in Jesus, He will forgive their sin. In verses 20-21, Peter assures the crowd that one day Jesus will return to restore our world. In verse 19, God promises periods of refreshment or relief from the pain we feel in Jesus absence. In verse 22, Peter claims that Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of the promise to raise up a prophet like Moses. Jesus will lead the people out of the slavery of sin. In verses 23-24, Peter adds that all the Old Testament prophets have looked forward to Jesus. In verses 25-26, Peter tells them that they are in line to receive the blessings of the covenant that God made with Abraham. They are a privileged people. For hundreds of years, God promised a Servant. They are the recipients of that promise. Peter is calling them to receive God s gift. They aren t the only ones who are the recipients of God s goodness. Two thousand years later, we are also the recipients of that goodness. God offers restoration and refreshment in Christ. He offers us all the blessing of the Abrahamic covenant. How are we to respond to such an offer? The same way these people have responded, by putting our faith in Christ. If you have never trusted Christ, now is the time. All of us have gone our own way. All of us have had a hand in Jesus crucifixion with our rebellion. God offers restoration and forgiveness in Christ. We would think that would be a time of celebration in Jerusalem. A man lame from birth has been healed. The people have found out that his healing points to a greater healing that is available to all people. But not everyone is celebrating. Look at chapter 4, verses 1-4. 1 As they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them, 2 being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they laid hands on them and put them in jail until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand. 3
The leadership is troubled. Why? The disciples are proclaiming Jesus resurrection from the dead. If Jesus rose from the dead, He is, as He claimed, the Son of God. And if He is the Son of God, then He outranks them. In verses 5-7, all the players in the Jewish leadership get together to grill Peter and the disciples. At the end of verse 7, they ask this question: By what power, or in what name, have you done this? Peter answers them in verses 8-10. 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers and elders of the people, 9 if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead by this name this man stands here before you in good health. Peter is clear: The man was healed in Jesus name. Peter adds that this is the same Jesus they crucified. In verse 11, he uses a text Jesus often used to magnify the mistake of these rulers. 11 He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone. Then Peter lets everyone know that Jesus is the only means of restoration with God. 12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. At Jesus crucifixion, Peter denied Jesus three times. How is the same Peter now so bold? Verse 8 says that Peter is filled with the Holy Spirit. Verses 13-14 give us the leaders perspective on Peter and John. 13 Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus. 14 And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply. The leaders are shocked because these unschooled ordinary men are standing up to them, the most powerful people in Jerusalem. Verses 15-17 give us the leaders quandary. 15 But when they had ordered them to leave the Council, they began to confer with one another, 16 saying, What shall we do with these men? For the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no longer to any man in this name. They can t deny the miracles. They know that the guy born lame is now walking. And they have heard Peter s explanation. This miracle points to a greater miracle: Jesus has risen from the dead and is offering salvation to any who would believe in Him. Isn t that good news? Isn t 4
that worth investigating? If it is true, wouldn t they want to share the news with everyone in Israel? But that s not how they respond. They want to stop the spread of the news of Jesus death and resurrection. Why do these men care more about not spreading the message than the truth of the message? They don t want to lose control and power. If they recognize Jesus, they will lose their authority over the people. They will lose their place of position and power. And they can t have that. The truth of the Gospel is secondary to them. Maintaining control is primary. Why do we resist Christ? We resist Christ because we want to maintain control and power. We resist Christ because we want to maintain control and power. In verse 18, they command the disciples not to speak about Jesus. In verses 19-20, Peter tells them that they can t stop speaking about Jesus resurrection. In verse 21, they threaten the disciples and send them on their way. Acts has 25 more chapters, 22 of the 25 remaining chapters will at least mention persecution of Christians. Why are people trying to stop the spread of the Gospel? The Gospel threatens their power. Let s not be surprised when we face resistance for sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. But let s also remember that like Peter, the Holy Spirit strengthens us to endure this resistance. As much as we might condemn those religious leaders, we all have their attitude in us. We want to maintain control in our life, so we stop the spread of the Gospel in our lives. We ve got two great kids, 12 & 15 years old. Sometimes I stress about their future. Jesus says to me, Andy, you need to let go. I ve got their future in control. I love them more than you do. Jesus wants to enter every area of our life and sometimes we are resistant. So we get angry and resistant when we hear that Jesus has something to say about who we should date. Or we want to maintain control of our leisure time, do what we want when we want. But Jesus has something to say about our use of time. We get resistant to that message. Jesus also has something to say about the way we spend our money. Some of us don t want Jesus coming on to that area. We work hard for our money, so nobody is going to tell us what to do with our money. And if Jesus gets too close in one of these areas, we cut Him off, just like the religious leaders tried to cut off the spread of the Gospel. Are there areas of your life in which you are resisting the spread of the Gospel? Would you turn those areas over to Jesus? These religious leaders maintained control in Jerusalem. In 70 A.D., just as Jesus had predicted, the Romans leveled the city. Let s not have that same kind of destruction in our lives. Let s surrender control in every area of our life to Jesus. We have wonderful children in this congregation. But do you know that we have at least 8 to 10 children from ages 4 to 8 that are resistant to shaking the pastor s hand? I can chase them, I can plead with them or I can threaten them, but they are not going to do it. One of them will run to the other door to avoid me. Another one will tell me his hands are full. Another one will walk in with clenched fists. Another one just runs. This is all in good fun, but we understand there is a natural stubbornness that nobody is going to tell them what to do. Do you know we have that same inborn resistance to God? And like the religious leaders that resistance causes us to miss out on so much. Why do we resist Christ? We resist Christ because we want to maintain control and power. We resist Christ because we want to maintain control and power. 5