Scripture Reading: Acts 5:12–16
And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch. Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. Also multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.
Opening Prayer
Let’s seek the Lord’s blessing on this, His holy word.
Gracious God and Heavenly Father, we do praise You and thank You that we once again have this privilege to come to open Your Word and to see what You would speak to us through Your Word, through Your Spirit. And we pray as we come to this passage this evening, we ask that You would, by the power of Your Spirit, give us understanding and insight, and that as Your Word goes forth in the power of the Spirit, that it would truly find within each and every one of our hearts that rich and fertile soil that brings about great and abundant fruit for your glory. And so we ask now for your blessing upon your word. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
The Foundation of Apostolic Ministry
The apostolic ministry of the early church was built upon the foundation of the gospel. The truth and the good news about Jesus Christ, who he was, and what he accomplished.
And the apostles had been well-trained. Each of them had been with Jesus from the beginning of his ministry, beginning with his baptism by John, and they were with him through his resurrection, and then also his ascension to the right hand of God the Father.
And you think about these disciples, they spent hours upon hours sitting under the teaching and the preaching of Jesus.
They saw how he taught with authority and not as the scribes. They saw how he understood, interpreted, and fulfilled the Old Testament scriptures, and how he vigorously contended for God’s honor and glory.
They also witnessed firsthand the many miracles that he performed, healing various diseases and ailments, casting out demons, calming storms, multiplying bread and fish, walking on water, and even raising the dead. They had seen and witnessed many great and wonderful things.
The Promise of Greater Works
And yet, Jesus assured them that His ministry was just the beginning of even greater things to come, as His Spirit would enable them, these same 12 men, to do the same and even greater works.
Jesus said to His disciples in John 14, Most assured I say to you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also, and greater works than these he will do, because I go to my Father.
It is these spirit-empowered greater works that we see here taking place in the ministry of the early church here in chapter 5 of the book of Acts.
Context After Ananias and Sapphira
Just after the dramatic account of Ananias and Sapphira being struck down by the Lord because of their lies and deceit, we’re told in verse 11 that great fear had come upon the church.
You may wonder, well, why fear? Fear that God might expose their sin? and their hypocrisy and perhaps strike them down before the apostles as he had done with Ananias and Sapphira? Well, it’s possible. They were filled with fear of such nature.
But more likely it was a reverent fear of the power and might of God at work in and through the apostles. The same power and might that many of them had heard was at work in Jesus.
And this seems to be the connection that Luke makes as he now records in verse 12.
And through the hands of the apostles, many signs and wonders were done among the people, and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch.
And as if the connection weren’t clear enough, Luke then adds in verse 15 and 16,
so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. And also multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.
The signs and the wonders, the miracles, the healing of the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits. It was very evident to everyone that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was truly working through the apostles to do the same kinds of things that Jesus did.
Comparison to Jesus’ Ministry
Again, the promise Jesus declared in John 14 was indeed coming about.
In fact, if you compare what Luke records here in Acts 5 with what we read in Matthew 8 regarding Jesus’ own ministry,
When evening had come, they brought to him many who were demon-possessed, and he cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick.
And so when Jesus roamed the Judean and Galilean countryside, great crowds gathered from all over the region, bringing their sick and the lame and those that were afflicted with evil spirits so that Jesus might heal them.
But remember what Jesus said in John 14.
He says, the works that I do, he will do also, but he doesn’t stop there. and greater works than these he will do.
You see in Acts 5, even greater works being done. In verse 15, that the people laid out the sick along the street, so that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them.
Addressing Potential Superstition in the Shadow Miracle
Now we read this and wonder whether these people were maybe being a little superstitious. That is, were they putting faith and trust in Peter and the apostles thinking that they had some kind of magic power that could be passed on just by walking in their shadow?
Well, it’s quite possible that some who came to the apostles were doing just this, just like those who had followed Jesus to see some great demonstration of power. They were looking to be entertained by the great works and things that Jesus did, but they never really believed in him.
But what Luke records here doesn’t have to be superstition. Extraordinary, yes. but not superstitious, especially when we consider that the shadow that might fall on them wasn’t necessarily Peter’s own shadow. but actually the power of the Holy Spirit which Peter was given.
If this was the case, then there is no superstition whatsoever. In fact, the similar language is used of the Holy Spirit regarding the miracle of Christ’s conception.
In Luke 1.35 we read this, And the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the highest will overshadow you. Therefore, also that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
And so the fact of the virgin birth is secured in that Mary knew not a man, but that the Holy Spirit overshadowed her. That is, the power of God’s Spirit to create and give life came upon her and she conceived.
And so it’s very possible that the Spirit is working in a very similar way here in Acts, that as people walk by, or Peter walks by, that this Holy Spirit overshadows them and brings healing to them.
The Extraordinary Nature of This Period
Now we don’t necessarily expect such things today, as we know these events taking place in the period of the early church were quite an extraordinary time, as the Spirit was poured out in such great abundance and with such power, all for the purpose that the message that the apostles preached would be confirmed as being truly from God.
And so such demonstrations of power weren’t as necessary as the New Testament scriptures were then written down. and thus the Spirit now works through the Word of God as the ordinary means of His grace and power.
But even with all the other miracles, what was happening here was almost extra-extraordinary. And we see a confirmation of this extraordinary time later in Acts 19. where it says,
now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.
Now, I want you to note very carefully that these were unusual miracles. Unusual means not usual. That is not ordinary. And so no one else can claim such power in their handkerchiefs or aprons today. This was almost extraordinary. This was certainly a most extraordinary time.
Indeed, God is a great God of wonders and mighty power. And this was being demonstrated by these great unusual miracles.
And this is precisely what Jesus had said would happen. And in fact, the ministry of the apostles is here being confirmed as the same as Jesus ministry, because it was the very same spirit of Christ that was enabling them to do such wonderful things, even greater works that Jesus himself had done.
The Mixed Response of the Crowds
But it wasn’t just the great miracles that made this apostolic ministry like the ministry of Jesus. There were also large crowds that gathered wherever the apostles went. And as with Jesus, those crowds were a mixed bag of those who were true seekers, of those who wanted to be entertained, and those who were sitting on the fence, and those who were ready to oppose him. and to oppose the apostles.
Verse 13 and 14 seems almost contradictory when it says,
Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly, and believers were increasingly added to the Lord multitudes of both men and women.
And so many joined with the apostles, as people were daily being saved and brought to new life in Christ.
And even though all people esteemed the apostles. And the believers highly, because of their admiration of how they loved and served one another, and not to mention the working of all these miracles, yet still many onlookers dared not to join with them. Were they afraid? Skeptical? Hostile? Well, yes, yes, and most likely yes. All of the above.
For this was the same description of the crowds that followed Jesus during his ministry. Again, John 11, verse 45, after the raising of Lazarus from the dead, we read this.
And again, what a tremendous miracle. Lazarus was dead. He’s been dead for four days. Jesus comes. They remove the stone from the tomb. Lazarus comes forth. Lazarus comes out. He’s alive. Everyone’s stunned and amazed that this dead man is alive.
But then we read this, that many of the Jews who had come to Mary and had seen the things Jesus did believed in him. That’s good. But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did. Some believed and some opposed. Like spies, they went and told the religious leaders all that Jesus was doing.
They did not believe, even though they had seen this dramatic event, this dramatic miracle right before their very own eyes.
But you also discover later that even some of the religious leaders, even they, some of them believed. but they didn’t openly follow him because they were afraid. Again, John 12,
nevertheless, even among the rulers, many believed in him, but because of the Pharisees, they did not confess him unless they should be put out of the synagogue for they love the praise of men more than the praise of God.
They believed, but they were afraid to publicly identify with Jesus. They are afraid of being ridiculed by the other religious leaders and worse, They were probably afraid that they’d be cast out of their positions in the Sanhedrin and in leadership over the people.
It appears that the same thing was happening in connection with the ministry of the apostles, as we have seen here in verses 13 and 14. There were some in the crowd who didn’t want to associate themselves with the apostles, even though they were in the crowd hearing their teaching and again, seeing all these miracles being performed.
But it’s likely that fear prevented them from associating. Perhaps they were afraid that their family would turn against them if they suddenly began to profess faith in Christ. They would know what had happened to Jesus, how he was put to death. And they knew likely that Peter and John had just been arrested and spent the night in jail.
Some may then have been afraid of being identified with this new radical group. And certainly, as we mentioned earlier in the passage just before this, was the account of Ananias and Sapphira.
And certainly as word of what happened in that situation began to spread, well, many would have feared that they may too be struck down if their hearts were not right before God. And so they kept their distance.
And yet the curious thing is that despite all this fear, the people still held the apostles in high esteem. Again, perhaps it was their boldness and their willingness to hold to their convictions, even though it meant putting them at odds with their religious leaders, even though it meant having them put in jail. And later, even worse things would happen.
It may have been the witness and the testimony of the unity and the love of the church community, how they shared with one another and how they ministered to one another. That truly, as we’ve talked about before, that can be a tremendous witness to those outside the church.
It may also have been admiration for their humble godliness. It was kind of a refreshing contrast to the arrogant, hypocritical display of faith of the scribes and Pharisees. They didn’t want to be associated with them. They admired the apostles and their followers.
Application to Today
Indeed, even today, we know that there are many fence sitters, even that come into the church, people who express interest in spiritual things. They enjoy the teaching, the fellowship. They admire perhaps the moral lifestyles that stand out in comparison to the rest of the world. And yet they never commit. They never join in, they keep their distance, and eventually they, we all drift away. But this is what was happening in the early church. And they had the extra draw of the extraordinary miracles and wonders. Yet even these clear evidences didn’t pierce their hardened hearts.
Well, aside from these doubters and fence sitters, We also know that there were plenty of people who did want to be associated with the apostles and the church, as multitudes of men and women were being added to their number daily.
And the mention of women here is particularly as significant as before in Acts chapter 2 and Acts 4, when we saw a large number of people coming in. It only mentioned that the men were counted, though it’s likely that the numbers included women and children as well.
But the implication is that women as well as children now are believing and becoming part of the church. And here Luke makes this point specifically.
We know that there had been women with the disciples ministering to Jesus, ministering to the disciples, that they were there even in the upper room as the Holy Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost. And we see here that women were also being converted and added to the church.
The church wasn’t a men-only club. In fact, the mention of the apostles meeting regularly in the area known as Solomon’s Porch indicated that they, at least initially, were holding large meetings of worship, preaching, and teaching. Solomon’s Porch was a part of the public area of the temple and was open not just to Jewish men, as the inner courts were, but it was also open to the Jewish women, even to the Gentiles, both male and female. Anyone could go to witness what they were doing there in Solomon’s porch.
And so this marked a stark contrast to the worship of the temple and the synagogue, where you had that wall of separation because it now has been taken down in Christ. As the Apostle Paul would later go on to say, that there’s neither Jew or Gentile, male nor female, slave nor free, they’re all brought together as one body in Christ Jesus.
And so we see here, yet again, that this ministry of the apostles was very much like the ministry of Jesus. And in fact, it was growing and expanding far beyond by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Ministry Like Jesus Today
Now it’s true today, again, we don’t see the extraordinary miracles, signs and wonders, and we don’t necessarily expect them because we now have the word of God given to us in the Bible. And we know that it’s through the Bible that God uses as the ordinary means in which He works in people’s lives. Although it’s possible, though, that God may be pleased at different times to still work such miracles, it’s not the ordinary means the Lord uses today to bear witness of the truth of the gospel.
So you may wonder, Do we have something then less today than the apostles and the early church enjoyed and experienced? Well, not at all. Because though the miracles and the manifestations of the power of God are different today, it is one and the same spirit at work in and through believers as they faithfully go forth to share the gospel.
People may not be healed when they fall under our shadow, but their hearts and their lives can still be dramatically changed and transformed by the gospel when we declare that truth to them. And so we too can have this ministry like Jesus, in the power and might of the Spirit of God, as His word is proclaimed, all to the glory of God alone.
Closing Prayer
Let’s pray.
Gracious God and Heavenly Father, we do praise you and thank you for this important picture of what was going on in the early church. And this is a great reminder to us that, yes, these were extraordinary times and the work, the outpouring of your spirit in great and mighty ways and these great wonders being done. And yet we rejoice and give thanks. Even though we may not see these kinds of great wonders today, you still do work in and through us because it is still the one true, the one same and true Spirit, the Spirit of the Living Christ that empowers and that goes forth in the proclamation of the Gospel, that softens hardened dead hearts, bringing new life. bringing change and transformation. That those who were once in sin now walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. So we praise you and thank you that you have given us this glorious gift of the Holy Spirit.
And Father, we just pray that we hear this congregation and other faithful believers would be mindful of this. That we have the Spirit of the Living Christ dwelling in us. And that when we are going forth into the world, with Your Word, at any moment, the power of the Spirit can go forth in a mighty way, converting sinners and transforming hearts. And so we pray, Father, that You would give us such boldness and such courage to go forth and to be faithful in these things. But especially we pray that this great truth would first be applied to our own hearts.
The powerful work of the Spirit would be truly at work in us, drawing us closer to yourself, drawing us deeper into the truth of your word. that we might be those faithful witnesses who seek to bring glory, honor, and praise to your name in all that we do.
So we just praise you and thank you, God, for these things. Again, we want to thank you for this, the Lord’s Day. We thank you for the great blessing it is to be able to rest from our usual labors and activities, to have a day set apart. where we can gather together with your people for worship, where we can fellowship together. And even now, as we’ve been able to gather together here this evening to worship once again. And so we just thank you for this wonderful gift.
And as we enter this week that lies ahead, we pray that we remember the things that we’ve considered on this day, and that you would help us to be those beacons of light and hope in this world. and that you would truly work in and through us. All to the praise of your glorious name. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.