4 Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem..
6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child.
7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. And so the angel said to them,
“Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:
to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah [CHRIST], the Lord.
This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.”
Jesus
After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
Want to know more about the CHRIST of Christmas?
Just follow ANY secure link to the terms above from the Nativity story of the birth of Israel's Messiah, Jesus.
OR
Email Roger@TalkofJESUS.comand ask me ANY question about Jesus Christ, God or the Holy Bible.
If you READ this section of Acts 4 carefully, you will discover that unlike the earlier acts focused on Peter, here Luke records that these prayers, praises and actions emanate from followers of the Apostles along with them.
23 On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people.. 24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God.
Thanks for Simeon Peter from the Psalms
Look closely and hear this praise of the Lord God through the followers (now disciples) of the Apostles (as their teachers).
Act 4:24 (KJV) — And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:
Psalm 55 – Prayer for the Destruction of the Treacherous
First, is it godly to pray for the ‘destruction of the treacherous?
Listen to my prayer, God; And do not hide Yourself from my pleading. 2 Give Your attention to me and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and severely distracted, 3 Because of the voice of the enemy, Because of the pressure of the wicked; For they bring down trouble upon me And in anger they hold a grudge against me.
Yes, I say; for their treachery is not only against the Apostles but rage against the Sovereign Lord God and His Anointed Messiah, their savior against the sins of their own Nation.
11 Destructive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets.
12 If an enemy were insulting me,
I could endure it;
if a foe were rising against me,
I could hide.
13 But it is you, a man like myself,
my companion, my close friend,
14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship
at the house of God,
as we walked about
among the worshipers.
Is this not what the Apostles Peter and John have just endured at the Temple? For they have been imprisoned overnight by Judaism’s highest officials who then dismiss the Truthof the Holy Spirit as leaven in the house of the LORD.
Therefore these Jewish disciples of the Apostles now pray according to the Psalms:
16 As for me, I shall call upon God, And the Lord will save me. 17 Evening and morning and at noon, I will complain and moan, And He will hear my voice. 18 He will redeem my soul in peace from the battle which is against me, For they are many who are aggressive toward me. 19 God will hear and humiliate them— Even the one who sits enthroned from ancient times— Selah With whom there is no change, And who do not fear God.
Again recalling the context of Luke’s second account written to the Church, these early events which took place in Jerusalem reflect some cause for evil already evident to all and a destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of Rome very shortly.
Questions of Cause:
“‘WHY
do the nations rage
the peoples plot in vain
kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
Against the Lord
and against His Christ.’
Yes, their rage is not only against the Apostles but against the Sovereign Lord God and His Anointed Messiah, Jesus Christ.
27 For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and purpose predestined to occur.
We see the RAGE in protests
The crowds turn quickly FOR or AGAINST the proclaimed leaders of the day.
Multitudes of OTHERSagainst
Nations rage against each other. But it’s not just nation against nation.
Not only religious leader against religious leader. Certainly not just political leader against political leader – party of one agenda opposing God against the other side of the aisle also opposing the rule of a ‘nation’ under God.
the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed – Psalm 2:2
Rage, ye peoples, and be broken in pieces! And give ear, all ye distant parts of the earth: Gird yourselves, and be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and be broken in pieces! – Isaiah 8:9 DBY
a multitude (whether of men or of beasts) associated or living together
a company, troop, swarm
a multitude of individuals of the same nature or genus
the human family
a tribe, nation, people group
in the OT, foreign nations not worshipping the true God, pagans, Gentiles
Paul uses the term for Gentile Christians
MEDIA HEADLINES of today provoke one multitude against another. The political/religious officials of first Century Jerusalem were no different. Herod and the Jews joined the Romans in accusing Christ and Christians falsely for many of the same personal motives as today.
RAGE!
φρυάσσω phryassō– to neigh, stamp the ground, prance, snort; to be high-spirited: properly, of horses
Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?
Although this is the only instance in the New Testament where this word is used from the common Greek of the Roman Empire, the Hebrew use by David and Isaiah also connect the ‘rage’ to other ‘nations.’
† [רָגַשׁ] verb be in tumult or commotion (Arabic bdb092104 make a vehement noise; Biblical Aramaic Aramaic רְגַשׁ, bdb092105 be disturbed, in tumult (Targum Ithp. often for הָמָה, as Psalm 46:6, שָׁאָה Isaiah 17:12f.; bdb092106 for חָמוֺן ibid.); but Syriac usually perceive, so Late Hebrew Hiph., but Hithp. fall stormily upon); —
Qal Perfect 3rd person plural Psalm 2:1 רָֽגְשׁוּ why do the nations throng tumultuously ?
A Parallel between Herod’s city of Jerusalem in Roman Syria and Damascus in David’s day
With some vision toward more recent events of these last days of this 21st century, heed yet another warning to the Nations.
Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap...
And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean...
Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.
January 6, A.D. 2021 US Capitol under siege by the rage incited by SOH & POTUS
Faithful Jews knew their Scripture.
Isaiah, the son of Amoz, ministered in and around Jerusalem as a prophet to Judah during the reigns of 4 kings of Judah: Uzziah (called “Azariah” in 2 Kings), Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (1:1), from ca. 739–686 B.C.– source
In panic, Ahaz sent to the Assyrian king for help (2 Kin. 16:7) and the Assyrian king gladly responded, sacking Gaza, carrying all of Galilee and Gilead into captivity, and finally capturing Damascus (732 B.C.). Ahaz’s alliance with Assyria led to his introduction of a heathen altar, which he set up in Solomon’s temple (2 Kin. 16:10–16; 2 Chr. 28:3). During his reign (722 B.C.), Assyria captured Samaria, capital of the northern kingdom, and carried many of Israel’s most capable people into captivity (2 Kin. 17:6, 24).- source
Long BEFORE Rome, the LORD banished His chosen nation because of their turning against Him.
The Holy Spirit then spoke through the same Isaiah who prophesied the coming of the Christ, warning Jerusalem’s rulers seven centuries beforeChrist.
40 Years of King David – 1000 B.C.
(Some after his anointing by Samuel, but before victorious return to Jerusalem)
David’s first two Psalms were written a full millennium before Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem just two months before this day in ACTS 4.
Now, Luke records what the Holy Spirit reiterates: Psalm 2, as praise for John and Peter’s safe returns, reminding all of similar themes of these two verses in Psalms to Acts of the Apostles:
Blessed is the person who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
Psalm 1:1 NASB
Why are the nations restless And the peoples plotting in vain? 2 The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers conspire together Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, 3 “Let’s tear their shackles apart And throw their ropes away from us!”
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs,
The Lord scoffs at them.
5 Then He will speak to them in His anger
And terrify them in His fury, saying,
6 “But as for Me, I have installed My King
Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”
Do YOU know the prophesies of Christ Jesus the Lord from the Psalms, of Isaiah and the true Prophets of Old Testament Scripture?
(These 1st century Jewish saints did.)
The saints who followed the Apostles of the early Church ACTED when the Lord showed such signs of His glory.
The Jews knew their history and its consequence, even as they awaited their expected Messiah, the Son of David.
AD 40 Emperor Caligula orders that a statue of himself is to be erected in the temple at Jerusalem. Herod delays implementation long enough to prevent wide-spread revolt in Judaea.
AD 44 Judaea is annexed as a Roman province after the death of Herod Agrippa.
AD 49 Claudius passes an edict expelling all Jews from Rome.
(Christians considered just a sect of Judaism by Rome.)
AD 54 Death and deification of Claudius. Nero ascends to the throne.
Consequence
JUST one more reminder of context and consequence for these disciples of the Apostles to whom LUKE wrote ACTS of the APOSTLES in about A.D. Sixty. [~AD 60-62]
Martyrdom of James, head of the Jerusalem church (A.D. 62 according to the Jewish historian Josephus)
AD 64 The Great Fire of Rome speculated to have been started by Nero to make room for his palace.
Christians Persecuted as scapegoats.
AD 67-69 The future Emperor Vespasian is sent to Judaea to put down a Jewish revolt.
Nero enters the Olympic games and is named the winner of every he event he enters.
Death [by execution] of Paul the Apostle.
Widespread revolt forces Nero to commit suicide, sparking civil war.
Year of the four emperors.
And LESS than a DECADE after Luke completes ACTS:
Persecution under Nero (A.D. 64), and the fall of Jerusalem (A.D. 70) also suggests he [Luke] wrote Acts before those events transpired.
And now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant it to Your bond-servants to speak Your word with all confidence, while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.”
ACTS 4:29-31 NASB
31 And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.
From the bold witness of these saints of the first century church, Jerusalem will witness ACTS of power against its worldly powers which will soon plot the first DEATHS of disciples of the Apostles.
You may have had a beggar at your door recently. My new neighbor asked me if he should expect any ‘trick or treaters’ invading our neighborhood. Probably not, I responded. We generally have sweets here for ourselves that I could give away to a beggar, I assured. But he thought it might be best to go out and buy some treats just in case.
My neighbor then left to buy some sweets so as to not disappoint some little child at his door expecting a blessing.
Continuing in Jerusalem from where we last left Peter:
You may ask what my neighbor buying a treat to bless some little beggar at his door has to do with Peter and the Apostles as they enter into the gates and public courtyards of the Temple in Jerusalem.
I can think of more than one parallel to our 21st century walk as disciples of Jesus Christ.
So as we resume our journey with Simon Peter in Acts of the Apostles, don’t miss the Apostles’ hearts of graciousness accompanying the powerful signs of the Holy Spirit continuing to attract crowds to yet another sermon by Peter.
Luke’s account begins with a brief look back at his first account, the Gospel.
To these [the Apostles] He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days.. – Acts 1:3a
[The risen Christ Jesus had assured them] “..but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.” – Acts 1:8
The Apostle Simon Peter has already preached to the crowds:
Peter stood up among the brothers and sisters (a group of about 120 people was there together) [in an upper room in Jerusalem]. – Acts 1:15b
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. – Acts 2:2
.. they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with different [languages], as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out.. [Those in the crowds of Jerusalem were amazed and asked each other] And how is it that we each hear them in our own [dialectin] which we were born? – Acts 2:4,7,8 excerpt
But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, [preaching in the power of the Holy Spirit from Old Testament scripture]:
And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind;
Acts 2:14a, 17a – Simon Peter preaching to the crowds of Pentecost in Jerusalem from the prophet Joel
[Simon tells the crowds: ] ..he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay. It is this Jesus whom God raised up, a fact to which we are all witnesses. – Acts 2:32
.. the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, He has poured out this which you both see and hear.
Into this context and setting in first century Jerusalem we continue with Simon Peter and the Eleven as they obediently have remained in Jerusalem and the church continues to grow.
Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.
44 And all the believers were together
and had all things in common;
45 and they would sell their property and possessions
and share them with all, to the extent that anyone had need.
46 Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple,
and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47 praising God and
having favor with all the people.
HERE ARE SINNERS REPENTANT, BLESSING EACH OTHER AND OTHERS — DAILY — IN WORSHIP AND COMMUNITY.
THIS is the WITNESS OF THE CHURCH to ALL who encounter them, THAT, an evidence and sign in itself.
And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
The Day of Pentecost is past and three thousand souls have been worshiping day by day with the Apostles.
And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple
What will be the next ACT of the Apostles Peter and John?
Christian Witness with an Everyday Beggar
Imagine it — this is no child at your door, a costumed beggar charming you out of some candy.
NO, these desperate men of no means were as familiar at the entrances and exits of the public places as defeated men by the highway having no place to go with temporary signs – beggars asking alms of ANY who might help the invisible poor.
Yet Luke reveals that this beggar must had friends. They carried him to the place of worship daily. Or perhaps these men were part of his family who relied on his help by generated mercy of others.
The crowds who passed him by knew who he was; NOT a child, but a man handicapped from birth. No fault of his, but what could they do?
And mostly, their alms on occasion made them feel a little better about their own charity to him.
Note: Peter and John do not simply give the man something (or look away from him and move on, but the Apostles engage this beggar in conversation of lasting consequence.
Peter and John had witnessed the power of Jesus’ compassion
The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; but the one who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”
Now the seventy-two returned with joy, saying,
“Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name!”
Turning to the disciples, He said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see the things you see..
Eternal Life
25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
26 He said unto him, What is written in the law?
Jesus engages the man in conversation, meaningful conversation which the Lord illustrates with the now familiar to us parable of the Good Samaritan. (Remember, Judeans did not particularly like the Jews from Samaria and those from other distant states or regions.)
“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers..
But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion.”
Gospel of Luke 10:30b,33 CSB + Jesus addressing the question: ‘Who is my neighbor?’
This man who was robbed on his journey to Jericho was no beggar. But Jesus points out that he certainly needs help.
Jesus asks, ‘Which of the the three helped the man;’ that is, ‘who was his neighbor’?
The Apostles knew both the parable and the accompanying miracles. Seventy-two disciples of Jesus had just worked many miracles when the lawyer had asked what to do to inherit eternal life.
Returning now to Peter and John headed to the temple for worship:
Peter’s ACT of compassion
Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked for alms.
Do you suppose the two-way conversation between the eyes of the lame beggar and Peter continues in intense anticipation here?
You are the beggar at the door and the man says ‘I have no money.’
Peter is a neighbor who has gone out of his way to give a sweet blessing to this poor man…
So many do little or just pass by.. YOU lay there HELPLESS still.. you, a poor lame beggar.
Yet Peter and John continue with their own intense and compassionate stares…
They ACT personally, as if the two are alone in their transaction..
Then the man who has NOT passed by you, helpless at the gate of the place of worship continues:
In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, walk!”
The command of Peter: Acts 3:6b
Peter had witnessed Jesus Christ the Nazarene make a man walk!
And Simon Peter had touched and seen the Lord’s hands and feet which had been nailed to a Cross!
Peter and John had a commission from Christ to build His church once receiving the Holy Spirit.
Yet another sign of the Holy Spirit
With John at his side, as they had both been observers of Jesus healing a man like this lowered by friends into a room full of Jews listening to Jesus preach, Peter now reaches down to the man near the crowds before him:
And grasping him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened.
Act of Peter reaching down to a man lame from birth + Acts 3:7
Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret; and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s…
But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying,
“Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” ..
And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear; from now on you will be catching people.”
When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.
This had been three years ago. Since then, Peter and John have seen MANY more miraculous things — unexplainable signs from God — ACTS of Jesus’ power and authority over men and creation.
While He was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man covered with leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” And He reached out with His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately the leprosy left him.
One day He was teaching, and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the Law sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea, and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing. And some men were carrying a man on a stretcher who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him. But when they did not find any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus.
Simon Peter and John had witnessed the power of God through Jesus many times.
A Beggar Worshiping with the Apostles
And leaping up, he stood and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.
And all the people saw him walking and praising God; and they recognized him as being the very one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg for charitable gifts, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
The very sight of this crippled man everyone knew LEAPING UP must have taken away the breath of those who witnessed this great sign!
REMEMBER the lame man lowered by his friends into a crowded room so that Jesus could heal him?
What was it the Lord had said?
And seeing their faith, He said,
“Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” .. “I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher, and go home.”
Gospel of Luke 5:20, 24b NASB + Jesus commanding a Lame man to walk
Peter and John saw a beggar’s faith
And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.
Acts of the Apostles 3:11 Authorized Version
Friend, your sins are forgiven you, or at least they could be — IF only you would come to the Lord Jesus Christ.
For by our admitted failings, like Peter, we are all sinful men and sinful women.
In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, walk!”
The command of Peter: Acts 3:6b
Won’t you walk on in witness in the name of Jesus Christ beside John and Simon Peter and the Apostles? For they were, after all, just sinners like you and like me.
ALL are beggars before the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will greet us at the gate.
NEXT: Simon Peter walks to Solomon's Portico to preach to the crowds
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