Chapter 4 vv.1-3 - can you imagine the frustration for the Chief Priests and other Jewish Leadership? Jesus is threatening everything you're about, so you bribe one of his inside guys to turn him over. You then rig a trial and get a charge of blasphemy against him, take him to the Romans and play enough politics with them to get them to flog him and crucify him. Then he dies and is buried. You're thinking that you've snuffed out another "would be Messiah" and you're finished with all this. The next thing you know, Jesus's followers say he came back from the dead (!!!), ascended to Heaven in front of their eyes, and they cannot stop talking about him. In fact, some of his followers are doing things he did (healing, preaching with boldness, pointing out how lame your group is, threatening your order). Every time you hit them hard, or threaten to, things just get worse for you. It's like they don't care anymore about their own lives and have some higher purpose that is driving them!
v.4 - talk about church growth - the number of believers was up to 5000 men in no time. Throw in wives and kids and you could be talking about 20,000 followers easy. This was mega-church before mega-church was cool (with tons of small groups in homes). It's also interesting that someone is noting the numbers - that would've been me.
v.12 - this verse (Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved) is a direct shot at (A) Caesar - in the Roman empire, a similar phrase was used with Caesar's name inserted and he was seen as the only Savior; (B) "all roads/religions lead to the same mountaintop" theology - it's just plain hard to get around a verse like this or John 14:6.
v.13 - here's hope for all of us - 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. One of the worst lies that has ever been perpetrated on the Church came from the beginning of the Dark Ages (circa 333-350 AD) - clergy & laity. Neither term is found in the Bible. Since the majority of any church is "laity," what better way to neuter the the church than convince them they can't do very much because they are not "professionals" or "don't have the training necessary?" The two requirements I see from this verse (and verse 8) are: (A) Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit, and (B) Peter & John had been with Jesus. Are both of these attainable for us today? Yes. Could God use anyone of us to do amazing, extraordinary, courageous things for the Kingdom today? Of course - if we are willing to empty ourselves, be filled with the Spirit, and work on our relationship with Jesus.
vv.19-20 - Civil disobedience - these verses seem to say that it's okay to disobey the government if you're a follower of Christ. How does this square with Romans 13:1-7? Here's the answer: followers of Christ should obey the government at all times unless the government is requiring you to do something clearly unbiblical. For instance, because the government allows abortion (not requires it [or infanticide], like some cultures around the world) does not mean we don't have to pay our taxes. In the U.S., one would have a tough time finding a law that allows for Godly civil disobedience - sorry for all you "let's stick it to The Man" types out there.
Their response to the edict to stop talking about Jesus is SOOOOOOO convicting. Verse 2o says: For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard. Cannot stop. Why is it so hard for us to start? If we see a great movie, or eat at a great restaurant, or use some product that really works and makes life easier, we will beat people down with our review of it and encourage (almost demand) that they try it. It's natural and involuntary. We never stop and wonder, "Am I offending them by telling them to go see that movie? Am I pushing my beliefs on them by encouraging them to eat at such-and-such restaurant? Am I being too strong by advising them to use this new product?" This is not an encouragement to be the talk-too-much Christian guy (see James 1:19) - but I don't think we're even trying hard to look for natural openings.
vv.24-30 - The Prayer I Would Never Pray - after they get released, the believers get together and then pray together. Without question, the content of our prayer at this point would've been to get the Jewish leaders/cops off our backs. AMAZINGLY, you don't find that in this prayer. The believers pray for more boldness to hold up under the future persecution!!! It's sad to come to the realization that, many times, comfort is really our God. If something requires us to experience pain or discomfort, I would always pray to have that removed so I can continue to follow God. Maybe the answer is to just following God...period.
vv.32-36 - repeat from chapter 2 - Christian communism. It seems that God is equating true community, being filled with the Spirit, and spiritual maturity with a "letting go" of possessions and a focus on something more than this world has to offer.
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