Acts 4 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

Acts 4 in 5 Minutes

WHEN:

• The first part of Acts 4 is the continuation of the story that started in Acts 3.

• These events took place around 30 AD.

CHARACTERS:

• Peter and John – Apostles who were preaching about Jesus’ resurrection in Acts 3

• Jewish Officials – The Jewish religious leaders who killed Jesus and wanted to suppress news of His resurrection.

• Annas and Caiaphas – High Priests of the Jews. Annas was the high priest before Caiaphas and was his father-in-law.

• 5,000 Believers – 5,000 people who believed in Jesus as the Christ due to Peter’s preaching.

• Joseph (Barnabas) – A generous man who sold a field and donated the money to the early Church.

WHERE:

• The events of chapter 4 occurred in the city of Jerusalem.

OUTLINE:

• PETER AND JOHN ARE ARRESTED FOR PREACHING IN THE TEMPLE (4:1-22):

  • The fact that Peter was preaching about Jesus (see Acts 3) greatly annoyed the priests, the captain of the Temple, and the Sadducees.

  • They had Peter and John arrested and kept in custody overnight.

  • Nonetheless, about 5,000 people were convicted by the power Peter displayed by healing the lame man and by the case he presented proving Jesus as the Christ.

  • The next day, the Jewish leaders asked Peter and John “By what power or by what name did you do this?”

  • Peter told them the miracle they performed was by the name of Jesus of Nazareth, the same man the Jewish leaders had just crucified.

  • Peter told them salvation could be found no where else but in the name of Jesus.

  • Having no way to deny the genuineness of the miracle, the Jewish leaders threatened the Apostles and told them to stop preaching Jesus.

  • Peter and John answered them “…we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”

• PETER AND JOHN MEET WITH THE DISCIPLES AND ARE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT (4:23-31):

  • After being released, Peter and John went to the other believers and recounted their experience.

  • The disciples praised God because although men of authority, kings, rulers, and nations had tried to stop Jesus’ mission they had not been successful. God was in control of everything.

  • The believers prayed for boldness and continued miracles to help them spread the gospel message.

  • After praying, the place they were staying shook and they were “filled with the Holy Spirit.”

• THE DISCIPLES SHARE THEIR POSSESSIONS AND GIVE CHARITABLY (4:32-37):

  • Jesus’ followers shared a deep unity with one another.

  • They shared their possessions with anyone who had a need.

  • People who owned land and houses sold them and gave the money to the Apostles so they could distribute it appropriately.

  • One man named Joseph (Barnabas), a Levite from Cyprus, sold a field and gave the proceeds to the Apostles.

APPLICATION:

• Sometimes it’s appropriate to pray for boldness to get through difficult situations, rather than praying for those difficult situations to be removed from our lives.

• Notice, the disciples in verses 23-31 didn’t pray for an easy life, they prayed for boldness to do hard things in the face of a difficult life.

• God does a lot of refining work by allowing His children to face difficulty.

• If life was easy, we would never grow, we would never develop patience and perseverance.

• Rather than praying for our lives to get easier, why not pray for God to make us stronger?