Acts 4 They Were Greatly Disturbed shows what happens when the truth about Jesus Christ confronts human authority. Peter and John are threatened, questioned, and ordered to stop speaking about Jesus. Instead of becoming afraid, they become bolder through the Holy Spirit. The believers respond through prayer, unity, generosity, and faith, showing that nothing can stop God’s Redemption Plan when His people trust Him.
Obedience, God’s Covenant, Blessings, Priest, Salvation, Repent, Murder, Healing, Redemption Plan, Jesus Christ
📖 Acts 4:1 (NIV)
“4 The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. “
Peter and John had been teaching the people about Jesus Christ and proclaiming the resurrection of the dead.
The religious leaders were greatly disturbed, not because a man had been healed, but because the apostles were teaching that the resurrection came through Jesus.
Peter did not take credit for the miracle.
Filled with the Holy Spirit, he clearly told the rulers that the man had been healed through the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth—the same Jesus they had crucified, whom God raised from the dead.
The leaders could see the evidence standing in front of them.
The healed man was more than forty years old, and the miracle could not be denied.
Yet instead of turning toward God, they tried to silence the apostles.
Peter and John answered with obedience to God rather than fear of people.
After their release, the believers prayed together.
They did not ask God to remove every difficulty.
They asked for boldness to continue speaking His Word.
God answered their prayer.
The Holy Spirit filled them, and the believers became one in heart and mind.
Their possessions were used to help those in need, and Barnabas became an example of generosity by laying the money from his field at the apostles’ feet.
📖 Acts 4:1-4 (NIV)
“4 The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. 2 They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3 They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. 4 But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.”
The priests, the temple captain, and the Sadducees were disturbed because Peter and John were teaching about Jesus and the resurrection.
The problem was not that the apostles were causing harm.
They were proclaiming a message that challenged the authority and beliefs of the leaders.
Sometimes truth disturbs people because it requires a response.
Jesus had been rejected and crucified, but God raised Him from the dead.
The apostles were now witnesses to that truth.
God’s Word does not become false because someone is disturbed by it.
The question is not whether people are comfortable with the truth.
The question is whether we are willing to listen when God reveals it.
📖 Acts 4:5-8 (NIV)
“5 The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family. 7 They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”
“8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! “
Even though Peter and John were put in jail, the message continued to produce fruit.
Many who heard the Gospel believed, and the number of believers grew to about five thousand.
This demonstrates something important about God’s Redemption Plan.
Human beings can restrict a messenger, but they cannot restrict God’s truth.
The apostles were not successful because they had political power, wealth, or influence.
They simply proclaimed Jesus Christ.
One person may be silenced for a moment, but God’s message can continue moving through another person.
The Gospel does not depend on human power.
It depends on God.
📖 Acts 4:9-11 (NIV)
9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 Jesus is
“‘the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the cornerstone.’[a]”
Peter’s answer gave all the credit to Jesus Christ.
The man was healed through the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom the leaders had crucified and whom God had raised from the dead.
Peter could have pointed to himself.
He could have accepted the attention. Instead, he pointed away from himself and toward Jesus.
That is obedience.
When God works through us, we should never confuse being used by God with being the source of God’s power.
The apostles were instruments.
Jesus Christ was the source.
📖 Acts 4:12-14 (NIV)
“12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
“13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. “
Peter gives one of the clearest statements about salvation in the entire book of Acts:
“Salvation is found in no one else.”
The healing of the man was a visible sign, but the greater message was salvation.
Physical healing matters, but eternal life matters even more.
The miracle gave people something they could see, while the Gospel gave them an opportunity to believe.
Jesus is not simply one path among many.
The apostles proclaimed that salvation comes through Him.
Human beings are imperfect. We cannot save ourselves through good works, status, wealth, or religious position.
That is why God’s Redemption Plan centers on Jesus Christ.
📖 Acts 4:15-17 (NIV)
“15 So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 16 “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. 17 But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”
The rulers were astonished by the courage of Peter and John.
They recognized that these were ordinary, unschooled men, yet they spoke with remarkable confidence.
Then the leaders took note that they had been with Jesus.
This is a powerful lesson.
God does not require us to be famous, powerful, or highly educated before He can work through us.
The greatest evidence was not their education.
It was their relationship with Jesus.
What people see in our lives may tell them more about what we believe than our words alone.
When we spend time learning from Jesus, following His teachings, and trusting the Holy Spirit, our lives can become a witness.
📖 Acts 4:18-22 (NIV)
“18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20 As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
“21 After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.”
The rulers commanded Peter and John not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus.
Peter and John had to make a choice.
Their answer was clear.
They could not stop speaking about what they had seen and heard.
Obedience does not mean being rebellious for the sake of being rebellious.
It means recognizing that God ultimately stands above every human authority.
When human demands directly oppose what God has commanded, faithfulness requires courage.
Peter and John had personally witnessed the risen Jesus.
They could not deny what they knew to be true simply because powerful people threatened them.
📖 Acts 4:23-26 (NIV)
“23 On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. 25 You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:
“‘Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
“26
The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against the Lord
and against his anointed one.[b]’[c]”
After being released, Peter and John returned to the believers and reported what had happened.
And they prayed.
They recognized God as the Sovereign Lord who created heaven, earth, the sea, and everything in them.
They remembered what Scripture had said through David and understood that the opposition against Jesus had not defeated God’s purpose.
Then they asked God for boldness.
They did not ask for an easy life.
They asked for strength to continue the work.
This is an important model of prayer.
Sometimes the answer to difficulty is not the removal of the difficulty.
Sometimes God gives us the courage to walk through it.
📖 Acts 4:27-31 (NIV)
“27 Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. 28 They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. 29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
“31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”
After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken.
They were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke God’s Word boldly.
The Holy Spirit did not simply give them emotion.
He gave them courage to continue the mission.
Acts repeatedly shows that the Gospel advances through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The apostles were ordinary people, but they were not working alone.
God was working through them.
This reminds us that obedience does not require perfection.
The only perfect souls are God and Jesus Christ.
We will make mistakes, but God can still work through people who trust Him, seek Him, and remain willing to obey.
📖 Acts 4:32-35 (NIV)
“32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.”
They shared what they had, and those who owned land or houses sometimes sold them and brought the money to the apostles.
The money was placed at the apostles’ feet so it could be distributed to people who had needs.
This was not simply about possessions.
It demonstrated a changed heart.
They understood that blessings could become a way to bless others.
Barnabas provides a specific example.
He sold a field and brought the money to the apostles.
God had blessed him with something he owned, and he willingly used that blessing to help others.
The lesson is not that every believer must sell everything they own.
The lesson is that what God places in our hands should never become more important than God Himself or the people He calls us to help.
📖 Acts 4:36-37 (NIV)
“36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.”
The chapter brings together the message of Acts 4: resurrection, healing, salvation, obedience, prayer, boldness, unity, and generosity.
The apostles continued to testify about the resurrection of Jesus, and God’s grace was powerfully at work among the believers.
And the church was becoming more than a gathering of people.
It was becoming a community shaped by Jesus Christ.
They had received the Gospel, experienced God’s grace, and were learning how to live differently.
The blessings they received were not meant to stop with them.
They became blessings for others.
That is one of the marks of a life changed by Christ: what God gives us can become something we use to serve others.
Acts 4 shows that God’s Covenant does not depend upon human approval.
The rulers could threaten Peter and John, but they could not change what God had already accomplished through Jesus Christ.
Jesus was crucified, but God raised Him from the dead.
The rejected stone became the cornerstone.
The apostles understood that the events surrounding Jesus were not outside God’s purpose.
Scripture had pointed toward God’s work, and the resurrection confirmed His promise.
Human beings may resist God’s truth, but resistance does not cancel God’s Covenant.
God’s promises stand because God stands behind them.
Acts 4 teaches us to examine where our courage comes from.
Peter and John were ordinary men, but they had been with Jesus and were filled with the Holy Spirit.
We also learn that obedience may require difficult choices.
Following God does not guarantee that everyone will agree with us.
Prayer should not only ask God to remove problems.
It can ask for wisdom, courage, and strength to remain faithful.
Finally, our blessings should not become possessions that control us.
The early believers used what they had to help others.
Faith becomes visible when our choices, relationships, resources, and actions begin to reflect what we believe.
Acts 4 points directly to Jesus Christ.
The man was healed through His name.
Salvation was proclaimed through His name.
The rejected stone became the cornerstone.
The One whom the leaders had helped crucify was the One God raised from the dead.
And the apostles did not build their message around themselves.
Everything pointed back to Jesus.
This is the heart of God’s Redemption Plan.
Humanity cannot overcome sin and death through its own strength.
We are imperfect, but God provided what we could never provide for ourselves.
Jesus Christ is the cornerstone.
The Gospel can be opposed, believers can be threatened, and people can reject the truth—but God’s plan continues.
Salvation is found in Jesus Christ.
