can’t stop it

And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.

Acts 4:1-4

So in this little episode we have a pattern that is frequently seen in the church growth history of the book of Acts. Faithful gospel preaching, even in hardship, leads to acceptance of Jesus and the growth of the church. These four verses are a great snapshot of how God chooses to bring the gospel into the world.

It begins with THE GOSPEL ANNOUNCED. In this episode which is recounted at the start of chapter three, Peter and John are in the temple when God uses them to heal a lame man that nearly everyone had passed by for years. That miracle drew a crowd of amazed worshippers to see what had happened. Peter and John respond by preaching the gospel, calling on the crowd to repent and believe in Jesus.

This offends the religious leaders, most notably the Sadducees who deny the doctrine of the resurrection from the dead. Stage two then in this pattern is ENEMIES ANNOYED. The gospel will draw hearts that truly listen. It will also disturb the minds of those predisposed to doubt or deny God. The leaders converged on Peter and John.

From there the story moves to MESSENGERS ARRESTED. Some form of persecution always follows successful gospel proclamation. That happens everywhere the gospel takes root in the book of Acts. We see it here as the apostles are seized and jailed overnight.

Yet despite the crackdown, there is a massive faith response from those in the temple courts that day. The final stage of victory: THE MESSAGE ACCEPTED. You can’t stop God’s Spirit from moving or stop Jesus from saving! That day five thousand believed, even during the attempt to silence the truth! The gospel will not be silenced as it is pushed forward by the power of God’s Spirit and the obedience of his saints! May we believe that, and live that way today.