The Powerful Witness of a Holy Church - Acts 5:12-16
Last week, we looked at the story of Ananias and Sapphira. And of course, this portion of Acts follows that entire episode. If you recall, Ananias and Sapphira wanted the reputation of sacrificial generosity without actually making the sacrifice. And of course, they were quickly judged by the Lord for their deception.
The Lord purged grievous sin from the church. And fear fell among the people.
But none of it impacted what Jesus said he would do. He told his disciples that he would build his church. And frankly, that’s exactly what we see in this passage. Jesus is building his church, which is one of the major themes of the book of Acts.
As men and women hear the gospel and put their faith in Christ, God is confirming the truth of the gospel message through miraculous signs and wonders. First, Christ displays His power through His church (v. 12). Second, Christ grows His church (vv. 13-14). And third, Christ demonstrates His mercy through His church (vv. 15-16).
Jesus is building his church.
Christ displays His power through His church (v. 12)
Really so much of what we read about here in this passage is about the supernatural“signs and wonders.”
In verse 12 we’re told that, “...many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles.”
We’ve already seen several incredible miracles in the book of Acts. We read about Pentecost in Acts 2, the lame man was healed in Acts 3, Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead in chapter 5, and then throughout the first five chapters of Acts Luke reminds us that, “many signs and wonders” were performed by the apostles. In fact, Luke essentially says this exact phrase in Acts 2 and 4.
And the takeaway each time is never supposed to be, “wow, the apostles are so amazing!” Nor are we to assume that the Apostles possessed some sort of supernatural power in themselves. Rather, the emphasis is on the fact that supernatural power from on high is moving through the hands of the apostles. God is doing the work, the apostles are merely the vessels. They are the tools.
Luke says this explicitly in chapter 4. He says that the “signs and wonders are performed through the name of Jesus.” And of course, what we’re seeing here is no different. Powerful signs and wonders were being performed in the early church at the hands of the apostles by the power of Christ.
Christ was displaying his power through his church and of course, Christ continues to display his power in the church.
The Scottish Presbyterian minister, James Bannerman, hammered this point home in his massive work, The Church of Christ. In it he wrote,
“The Church has no store of life apart from Christ being in it; the ordinances of the Church have no deposit of grace apart from Christ present with them; the office-bearers of the Church have no gift of power and authority or action apart from Christ ruling and acting by them. It is most important to remember that it is in this high and very special sense that we are to understand the expression, that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only Head of the Church’ (pp. 207-8).”
All of the church’s power and authority comes from Christ and yet, we’re so easily convinced the church’s power comes from something else. Too often, it seems to me, that churches truly believe the power comes from their pastor.
Sessions will expect their new pastor to turn around their dying church overnight by his charismatic personality, or humor, or whatever.
But Peter never had these sorts of expectations. Do you remember what he said right after healing the man who had been lame from birth? He says, “Why are you looking at us? Why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?”
Peter understood something that we desperately need to remember: the power is not in the building, the program, the minister, or apostle. The power is in Christ.
That means our calling is not to manufacture results. Our calling is to be faithful—to preach the Word, to administer the sacraments, to pray, to disciple, to love one another, and to trust Christ to do what only Christ can do.
We cannot regenerate a sinner. We cannot give someone faith. We cannot change someone's heart. We cannot make someone love Jesus. We cannot produce spiritual life.
But Christ can.
There’s a famous story about Charles Spurgeon and whether or not every detail of the story happened exactly as it was passed down is unclear. But it’s still worth telling.
Spurgeon became one of the most well-known preachers of his generation, and God used his ministry in extraordinary ways. But Spurgeon was quick to point beyond himself whenever people asked about the effectiveness of his ministry.
There is a famous story that visitors once asked Spurgeon about the secret of the church's remarkable ministry. He took them downstairs beneath the sanctuary, where they found people gathered together in prayer. Spurgeon pointed to them and said, “Here is the powerhouse of this church.”
Spurgeon fundamentally believed that the power of the church didn’t rest on him. It rested on Christ. If people were going to be saved, if lives were going to be transformed then Christ was going to have to do it.
Christ grows His Church (vv. 13-14)
But not everything was sunshine and rainbows in the early church. Obviously, Peter and John have already faced persecution, but we’re told of what I think is a growing tension in the church.
Verse 13 says that, “None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem.”
There’s some debate among scholars as to who “the rest” are in verse 13. Some contend it’s nothing more than a reference to unbelievers. But that would create a conflict because in verse 14 Luke speaks about how more believers were being added.
And so it appears that there was some tension developing in the seedling stage of the early church between those who were more timid or afraid. We know there were those who were disciples of Jesus who were timid. Consider Nicodemus and how he approached Jesus at night. And then there were those who were on the other side of the spectrum. The believers who were bold with their faith. And so when Luke is speaking about, “none of the rest dared join them,” it seems he’s referring to this timid group.
But you have to keep in mind everything that’s happened in the short life of the church. Peter and John have already been arrested by Jewish religious leaders and more recently Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead by the Lord.
Just imagine, for a moment, being a part of the early church and having some of your unbelieving friends over for dinner and telling them about all the things that had recently taken place at church?
You say, “You’ll never believe what happened. A few weeks ago two of our church leaders, Peter and John were arrested and then yesterday, a prominent couple in our church suddenly fell down dead in front of all of us because the Lord had judged them because of their sin.”
And then, after telling them all of that, you look at them and say, “So…do you want to come to church with me this Sunday?”
Of course, I’m being a bit sarcastic but if you were going to write a playbook for how to grow a church, two of your first recommendations would be, ideally it’s best if no one gets arrested and let’s do what we can to make sure God doesn’t strike anyone done in the service this week!
You would think the way things are unfolding in the early church would have a negative impact on the church’s growth. And yet, the church continued to grow. In fact, Luke reports in verse 14 that, “...more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women.”
Notice that he says, “believers were added to the Lord.” The Lord was drawing them to himself. He was folding men and women into his church.
The church grew without any of the elements that you and I often believe are critical. They’re meeting in Solomon’s Portico or Solomon’s Colonnade which isn’t really part of the temple. It’s like a passageway on the outside of the temple. Needless to say, the atmosphere for the early church was nonexistent.
Too often we’re convinced that we need the right music. We need the right program. We need the right strategy and if you can just get the right combination of those things you’ll unlock the masses and people will start flooding your church.
As Reformation Sunday quickly approaches, it only seems appropriate to quote Martin Luther. This is probably one of the most well-known Luther quotes about his role in the Protestant Reformation. He said,
“I simply taught, preached, and wrote God's Word; otherwise I did nothing. And while I slept, or drank Wittenberg beer with my friends Philip and Amsdorf, the Word so greatly weakened the papacy that no prince or emperor ever inflicted such losses upon it. I did nothing; the Word did everything.”
He understood that the Lord, by the power of His Word, sparked the Reformation. At that particular moment in history, God was doing something amazing, and somewhat similar to what happened in Acts 5.
Peter wasn’t a church growth expert. Nor was he some sort of super Christ with super powers. The Lord was working in and through his apostles. Christ was growing and building his church, just as he had promised.
Christ demonstrates His mercy through His church (vv. 15–16)
But other important aspects of Christ’s character and ministry are present in the way he builds his church. In both verses 15 and 16 we read about the sick being healed and those who were oppressed by unclean spirits being made well. And then Luke gives us this remarkable statement at the end of verse 16: “They were all healed.”
The Italian Renaissance painter Masaccio [MA-SA-COH] depicts Peter healing the sick with his shadow. He has Peter in his pointed papal hat, not paying any attention to the sick he’s passing by. He’s blowing right by them as they hope his shadow falls upon them.
That’s not the picture that Luke depicts for us in these verses. People were pouring in from all over, and the crowd was so big and the streets were so full that the sick were merely hoping that his shadow would fall upon them.
But again, this doesn’t mean that Peter possessed some kind of supernatural power of his own. Peter is not the healer. Christ is the healer. Peter is simply the instrument through whom Christ is demonstrating His power.
And what is particularly striking is who Jesus is healing. These aren't the influential people. These aren't the wealthy or powerful or well-connected. These are the sick. The demon possessed. These are the people who have been pushed to the margins of society. These are people who are suffering and hurting and desperate for help.
During Jesus’ earthly ministry he never overlooked them. He said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.” And throughout the Gospels, we see Him repeatedly moving toward people whom others would have moved away from. He touches lepers. He speaks with outcasts. He receives sinners. He stops for the blind and the lame. He has compassion on the crowds because they are like sheep without a shepherd.
And now, here in Acts, the ministry of the risen Christ continues.
Something amazing is taking place. Christ is building His church. It is growing by leaps and bounds. Thousands are being added. The apostles are preaching with boldness. Signs and wonders are being performed. The gospel is advancing.
But notice this: Christ never builds His church at the expense of those who are suffering.
The growth of the church does not make Jesus less compassionate. His power does not make Him less tender. In fact, His power is demonstrated precisely in the way He brings mercy to those who are hurting.
And I think there is an important lesson here for the church today.
It is possible for us to become so focused on growth, numbers, programs, buildings, budgets, and ministry success that we forget the people right in front of us who are hurting. We can become so concerned with building the church that we forget that the church is supposed to reflect the character of Christ.
But Christ doesn't merely gather a crowd. He cares for the people in the crowd.
The church is not simply a place where we proclaim the truth; it is a place where the mercy of Christ ought to be put on display. We preach the gospel to sinners, but we also care for sinners. We proclaim the hope of Christ, but we also walk with people through their suffering.
And this doesn't mean that the church can heal every disease or fix every problem. Acts itself reminds us that physical healing is not the ultimate promise of the gospel. The greatest miracle is not that a sick body is made well for another few decades.
The greatest miracle is that a dead sinner is made alive in Christ and given eternal life.
And perhaps this is where all of this comes together.
The church preaches a gospel to sinners because Christ came to call sinners. And because Christ came to save sinners, the church should expect God to do miraculous things.
Now, when I say that, I don't mean that we should expect the same signs and wonders that we see taking place here in Acts. As I said earlier, I believe those miraculous gifts served a particular purpose in authenticating the apostolic message, and that many of those gifts have ceased now that we have the completed revelation of God in His Word.
But that doesn't mean we should lower our expectations of what God can do.
In fact, we ought to have very high expectations for what God can do through the ordinary ministry of His church.
Because what happens when the gospel is preached faithfully? Sinners repent. Dead hearts are made alive. Enemies of God become children of God. People enslaved to sin begin to walk in holiness. The proud are humbled. The bitter learn to forgive. The sexually immoral become pure. The greedy become generous. The angry become gentle. The hopeless find hope. The lonely find a family. The wandering are brought home. And people who once lived for themselves begin to live for Christ.
That's miraculous. We should never become so accustomed to conversion that we stop being amazed by it.
Every Sunday, when the Word of God is opened and sinners hear the gospel, we should recognize that we are asking God to do something that only God can do. We are asking Him to take His Word and use it to penetrate hard hearts. We are asking Him to awaken faith. We are asking Him to bring repentance. We are asking Him to conform His people to the image of Christ.
It seems to me that too often we expect too little. We’ll all sit around and say, “God can do anything,” but we don’t actually expect him to do anything. Our vision of God has gotten too small. It needs to be expanded!
So when we preach the gospel, we should expect sinners to be converted. When we pray, we should expect God to answer. When we disciple people, we should expect lives to change. When we care for the hurting, we should expect Christ's mercy to be displayed.
When we faithfully proclaim the Word, we should expect the Holy Spirit to use that Word to accomplish God's purposes. We don't need to manufacture miracles. We need to faithfully proclaim the gospel and expect the living Christ to work. And perhaps that is one of the great lessons of Acts 5.
The apostles are not the heroes of the story. Peter is not the hero. The early church is not the hero. Jesus is. He is the One who possesses the power. He is the One who builds the church. He is the One who saves sinners. He is the One who shows mercy to the hurting. And He is the One who continues to work in and through His church today. So let us preach Christ to sinners. Let us care for those who are hurting. Let us pray with boldness. Let us trust the Word of God.
And let us expect God to do what only God can do. Because when the gospel is faithfully proclaimed and sinners are brought to faith in Jesus Christ, we are witnessing the power of the risen Christ at work. And that is no less miraculous simply because it happens through the ordinary means He has given His church.
Christ is still building His church. Christ is still saving sinners. And Christ is still doing miraculous things. Amen. Let’s pray together.
