This is a very good question. It made me realize that I wasn't quite thorough enough in my study or specific enough in the question I posed after. In Acts 2, its easy to miss whether Peter is saying that baptism is required for salvation or for church "membership" (for lack of a better word). In Acts 3 Peter doesn't even mention baptism in his preaching, so what gives?
In Acts 2:38, the Greek word baptizo is strictly defined as an initiation or religious ceremony of immersing the whole body in water to signify purification. (The keywords initiation and religious ceremony are indicators that this is a physical act, not a spiritual transaction, if you will.). At the conclusion of Acts 2, Luke does mention that 3,000 joined the church. It is sensible to put two and two together (baptism in this case is related to pledging their faith in Christ before joining the church).
In Acts 3, Peter isn't in the presence of the church community and Luke doesn't mention the church community's interaction with one another, which is most likely why the invitation to the religious ceremony of baptism was omitted. I hope that makes sense. Thanks for the insight Brandon!
Acts 4 (Read it here)
As Peter and John were teaching, the captain of the temple guard was asked by the priests and some Sadducees to arrest them for teaching that "through Jesus there is a resurrection of the dead." (v. 2)
The Sadducees didn't even believe in a resurrection of the dead. The priests refused to accept Jesus as the Messiah. They felt that Peter and John were committing blasphemy (lying about or sharing something untrue about God) by teaching such a doctrine.
It didn't stop most of those who heard Peter's message in Acts 3 from repenting and believing in Jesus. The total number of believers probably ranged from 8-15 thousand, if you counted the women and children! But if you did the math from Acts 2 to now (Acts 4) you would see that as many as 2,000 became believers after Peter's second message!
The next day Peter and John were brought before the entire council, which included all the rulers, elders, teachers of religious law, the high priest, other priests and even the high priest's family! (vs. 5-6) Peter and John were considered very dangerous to the establishment so no religious leader was left out of this meeting! Caiaphas, the high priest who led the plot to kill Jesus, was also there!
This could have very well been the day of Peter and John's execution. With all the prominent leaders in this meeting, Peter and John would have been well within expectations to fear for their lives!
The questioning begins in verse 7, “By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?”
This question had the most obvious answer, a complete a no-brainer.
Pause.
Jesus told the disciples that there would come a time like this. A time when they would be surrounded by opposition, in a trial, where answers will be crucial and tensions will be high. Jesus had said, "don't worry when this happens. I will give you the right words to speak so your opponents won't be able to reply or refute you." (See Luke 21:12-15 for a refresher)
So let's see if this pans out like Jesus said it would. Remember Peter backed off last time when three random people asked if he even KNEW Jesus. This time it is he that is in front of the firing squad.
Play.
Peter steps up, to say the least. Luke makes it clear that Peter is "filled with the Holy Spirit." (v. 8) Peter is slightly sarcastic in asking if they are being charged for healing a crippled man. The real question they want to know, as Peter suggests, is "what is the source of the power that allowed them to do it?" (v. 9)
Peter doesn't even allow the council to confirm if that is indeed the question, he just answers his own question with superior boldness. He was healed by the power that's in the name of Jesus Christ, the man they crucified (this accusatory tone has proven effective recently) but whom God raised from the dead!
He even quotes the same Scripture Jesus did when the religious leaders had rejected him earlier in verse 11. As we noted earlier, Jesus is the foundation of all things; everything rests and depends on him (remember the post regarding the cornerstone and capstone? If not, check in this post), whether they want to believe it or not!
Jesus is the only way to be reconciled to God. Peter states it clearly to these religious leaders in verse 12. There is no other name or Messiah to wait for! Jesus is it!
The council is befuddled! How do these uneducated guys talk with so much authority (people thought the same thing about Jesus, too)? That's the power of the Spirit at work, ladies and gentlemen. The Spirit can use anyone, no matter how little education or public speaking experience one has, to humble the arrogant ones who think they have all the answers.
The healed man stood beside Peter and John as proof. The council is speechless. I guess that's good enough to prove that Jesus was right. The council removed Peter and John so they could strategize what to do with these apostles of Jesus. (v. 15) They couldn't deny the fact that the man had been healed but they couldn't allow this teaching to continue, either. (vs. 16-17)
The council decided to warn the apostles not to speak of Jesus again. (v. 19) Peter scoffs at the notion that he would be dumb enough to obey them rather than God. They flatly tell the council that they won't stop. (v. 20)
More threats came their way but ultimately they were released. The crowd was praising God because this crippled man had suffered for more than 40 years! (v. 22) How can someone who heals and releases a man from such agony be punished?
It was this reaction from the crowd that stopped the council from doing anything to the apostles.
Peter and John got the believers together and gave them the scoop about what had happened with the council. All the believers knew that the religious leaders would be keeping an eye out for anything related to Jesus, so they decided to pray together for courage. They would need it because more threats were to come and some would receive more than threats.
The believers know that the religious establishment was willing to use violence to suppress this Christian movement. Opposition is building from all sides, not just from the Romans, but also from the Jews and Gentiles alike! (v. 27)
The believers prayed for boldness and for miracles to continue to occur. (vs. 29-30) Just like in the upper room, the Holy Spirit fell upon the group. This time Luke says the place shook. Their prayer had been heard. They continued to preach with no fear.
Just so you know, these believers are not necessarily synonymous with all the people who heard Peter and John teach earlier outside the temple. Perhaps some of those who came to faith also partook in this meeting, though. This time of prayer was most likely removed from the temple courtyard and back within the fledgling Christian community.
Luke reminds the readers that within this community there was unity, complete sharing and a lack of poverty. People would literally bring money to the apostles so that it could be distributed to those in need. (v. 35) Barnabas was a good example of a rich man who sold possessions to support the needy. (vs. 36-37).
We'll definitely see the name Barnabas much more in the book of Acts.
Questions
1.) How would you react if you were arrested or publicly ridiculed for serving someone in need and sharing your faith? Would you heed the warning or change your behavior? What is the downfall if we were to stop serving and sharing our faith?
2.) Do you truly believe that God can use anyone to reach others for the gospel no matter how educated, wealthy or eloquent they are? Can't He use you? Why or why not?
3.) What would it be like to live or be part of a community in which no one was ever in need? If you could be assured of such a community, would you be willing to share everything you have for the sake of others? What stops you from doing that now?
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