Sermon Outline

ME

If there is one thing we humans constantly disagree on, it is authority. Who has it, who gives it, and who can challenge it.

For example, what is authority? Google dictionary defines it as the power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience.

No one has more authority they are not prepared for than a 16-year-old lifeguard. Have you ever seen the power trip of a whistle-happy teenager?! They get a little taste of power and all of a sudden the world must bow to them.

Or sometimes when I need one of my children, I’ll tell another of my kids, “Dad said so.” Sometimes this goes over well. Sometimes it degrades into a fight, and no one locks in like my daughter. She takes her authority very seriously!

WE

Today we’re addressing the nature of authority and specifically the authority we are given in Christ.

A little background on today's passage: Peter and John have, in the name of Jesus, healed a man crippled at one of the temple entrances and then in the temple Peter preaches about how only faith in Jesus has made this man well.

Now, keep in mind the purpose of the book of Acts is to tell of all Jesus continued to do through the Holy Spirit. For three years his disciples followed him, learned from him, and now they are living out a life empowered by the Holy Spirit.

It begs the question for us: Is our life a continuation of the work of Jesus? But that’s another sermon for another day.

One verse in particular frames the tension we find in Acts 4:1-22. “They brought in the two disciples and demanded, “By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?”” Acts 4:7 NLT. It’s a simple question with a really important thought behind it. Who said you could do that? Today we ask and answer the question of who is really in charge in our lives.

Let’s pray.

GOD

There are three aspects of authority we should address today in this passage.

Who has authority?

“While Peter and John were speaking to the people, they were confronted by the priests, the captain of the Temple guard, and some of the Sadducees. 2 These leaders were very disturbed that Peter and John were teaching the people that through Jesus there is a resurrection of the dead. 3 They arrested them and, since it was already evening, put them in jail until morning. 4 But many of the people who heard their message believed it, so the number of men who believed now totaled about 5,000. 5 The next day the council of all the rulers and elders and teachers of religious law met in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest was there, along with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and other relatives of the high priest.” Acts 4:1-6 NLT.

At first glance, the priest, the temple guard, and the Sadducees appear to hold it. They occupy the seats of control to the point they have Peter and John arrested and held for the night.

The priest occupied a role of responsibility to perform the rituals of worship in the temple. This is a very common practice, and there's nothing inherently wrong with a person who has responsibility and also has authority. In fact, if you have responsibilities but no authority, it's a nearly impossible task.

The temple guard enforced order but only within very narrow confines. At that time, Israel had no standing army or any way of raising one. In many ways, the temple guards were the only enforcement arm of Israel, but even that enforcement was completely subject to the whims of Rome. Unlike the responsibility-based authority of the priest, they had conferred authority. Everything they did was only because the Romans said they could. And often, Rome said they could not.

The Sadducees held political authority, that being the backing of the people. But like so many politicians, they were not popular. The very word politics, I’ve heard, if you break down the word to its meaning, you get poly, which means many, and tics, which means blood suckers. We’ll study this in a minute, but the nature of their authority was influence-based. Remember, they are the ones who pressured Pilate into crucifying Jesus.

Contrast these with Peter and John. They have no temple responsibilities, no backing from Rome or any other organization, and very little, if any, political influence with anybody. Yet here they are, imprisoned and interrogated by the most important men of the land for challenging the status quo.

Here’s the contrast: all three of those first groups mentioned — the priest, temple guard, and Sadducees — have power because of their title. Peter and John have it in their testimony. What does it mean to have power through testimony? When you have power through title, you have authority by what you could do; when you have power through testimony, you have authority through what you have already done.

Transition

It seems authority is either through title or testimony. The question we then must deal with is…

Who gives authority?

“They brought in the two disciples and demanded, “By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of our people, 9 are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed? 10 Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. 11 For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’ 12 There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”” Acts 4:7-12 NLT.

Think about this moment from Peter’s perspective. He’s standing before the same men that used their power to influence Pilate to crucify Jesus.

In every case mentioned in this text, authority is conferred, not assumed. Peter gives no clearer answer than in verse 10 when he says, “Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead.”

Now this is not an answer to the question they asked. If you go back and look, you find they asked about the resurrection of the dead because the Sadducees don’t believe in any form of resurrection. The truth is it’s not about the resurrection of the dead or the healed man; it’s about Jesus and the reality that everyone must either bow before him or stand against him.

To answer the question of who gives authority: God alone gives authority, and despite the best efforts to kill Jesus, he is now the cornerstone. Jesus himself said, “Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.”” Matthew 28:18 NLT.

Looking at this situation with human eyes, we would say that Rome and these men have authority, but through spiritual eyes and greater powers, we see that God alone, through the risen Christ and His Spirit, have true authority.

Transition

Despite the mounting evidence of the source of authority, we still see people who fight against it. So we land with the question…

Who challenges authority?

““What should we do with these men?” they asked each other. “We can’t deny that they have performed a miraculous sign, and everybody in Jerusalem knows about it. 17 But to keep them from spreading their propaganda any further, we must warn them not to speak to anyone in Jesus’ name again.” 18 So they called the apostles back in and commanded them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? 20 We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.” 21 The council then threatened them further, but they finally let them go because they didn’t know how to punish them without starting a riot, for everyone was praising God 22 for this miraculous sign—the healing of a man who had been lame for more than forty years.” Acts 4:16-22 NLT.

Why do they challenge Peter and John? In the grand scheme of things, these guys are just two, in their own words, uneducated men. They challenge them not because what they say and do is controversial; they challenge them because it’s effective. For the same reason they don’t reject Jesus, because he is unbelievable, they reject him because he’s uncontrollable. They can’t box Jesus in. And every time they think they do, Jesus outwits them.

Here’s what we see time and again: they fear the people more than they want to honor God. Specifically, they are concerned with the potential of a riot, not their own relationship with God.

If we back up a few verses, Peter quotes something about a cornerstone: “For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’” Acts 4:11 NLT.

If Jesus was the stone they had rejected, then what stone were they building on? They were building their life on what they did, not who they did it for. What they did allowed them a certain standard of living. What they did brought them respect. What they did gave them a sense of importance.

They challenged Jesus and his disciples not because Jesus was unbelievable, but because he was uncontrollable.

Transition

There is without a doubt a struggle we see before us, and the struggle isn’t actually between Peter and John and the Jewish council; it’s between whether we deny or accept Jesus as Lord of our life. How can we live this out today?

YOU

Seek A Testimony, Not A Title

A follower of Christ should be known by their fruits, not just their words. The council is introduced by their titles; Peter and John are known by their deeds.

Your testimony is the story of what has been done. It can accompany a title, but don’t seek the title. “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart.” Matthew 6:45A NLT.

We can call ourselves whatever we want, but we are known by what we have done. This is a key difference we must grasp, and it’s a hard lesson to learn. As a teenager, when most of us got our first jobs, we got paid for what we did. Typically by the hour to lifeguard, food service, whatever. Those who rise above realize it’s not just about what you do, but what you get done.

You and I, and Peter and John, have the same opportunity to not gain authority by a system, but because we walk with Jesus. This is still true for us: our greatest power doesn’t come from our titles at home or work; it comes from who we walk with.

Who’s Your “For”?

We all have to answer this question because it motivates everything we do. It might be one of your most important questions. I’ve actually seen this as a joke online recently. Someone is at their desk looking sentimentally at a photo, or they pull a photo out of their wallet; the camera pans around and it’s a photo with the letters IRS on it. We laugh, but so many people are motivated by fear, pressure, and obligation.

Some pressure is a good thing. But our ultimate “for” has to be able to withstand the pressures of life because, at some point, life will get heavy.

If we live for ourselves, or for our family, or for whatever, we lack a life of eternal significance. If Jesus is the one who gives us authority, then He must also be the one we live for. Every other “for” will crumble under pressure, but His authority holds steady through every season.

Disagree without Disrespect

Notice how Peter addresses the men of the council in verse 8, “Rulers and elders of our people.” These are terms of respect. As the saying goes, you’ll attract more with honey than vinegar.

There is wide room for disagreement; there is no room for disrespect. Why is this the case? Remaining respectful doesn’t mean you respect the other person's idea; it means you represent who you stand for with respect.

It’s not always about honoring the other person as much as it is about maintaining the honor of who you represent. “Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.” Romans 12:18 NLT. When it says do all that you can, it doesn’t mean you can control the other person or make them treat you as you would want to be treated. The golden rule is to treat others the way you want to be treated, not to treat others the way you have been treated.

Notice how in the text in Acts 4, Peter brings terms of respect and reason; the council brings belittling and threats. Who do we side with? Here’s something I’ve learned over the years: when people only bring you two stress-filled options, that’s a stress response. That’s a fight or flight response.

Realize that what we say and how we say it reflects on us and the God we serve. Our authority is not something we hold over others; it’s something we hold under God. It’s for the worship of Jesus and the benefit of others.

Conclusion

You don’t need a platform to have power. You don’t need a title to have authority. You just need a testimony that points to Jesus. There’s freedom in living a life that doesn’t pursue prestige or title, but a life that simply lives as Jesus would live.

WE

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