Acts 4:2 Study Bible: being upset because they taught the people and proclaimed in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

◄ Acts 4:2 ►

greatly disturbed that they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.

greatly disturbed
The Greek word used here is "diaponeomai," which conveys a sense of being deeply troubled or annoyed. This reaction from the religious leaders highlights their intense discomfort and agitation at the apostles' actions. Historically, the Sadducees, who were part of the religious leadership, did not believe in the resurrection, which was a core tenet of the apostles' teaching. This disturbance is not just emotional but also theological, as it challenges their authority and doctrinal beliefs.

they were teaching the people
The act of teaching, "didasko" in Greek, implies a systematic and authoritative instruction. The apostles were not merely sharing opinions but were imparting knowledge with authority. This teaching was directed at "the people," indicating a broad audience, likely including common folk who were often neglected by the religious elite. The apostles' teaching was accessible and inclusive, breaking down barriers that the religious leaders had erected.

and proclaiming
The Greek word "katangello" means to announce or declare openly. This is a public proclamation, not a private conversation. The apostles were bold and unashamed in their message, fulfilling the Great Commission to spread the Gospel. This public declaration was a direct challenge to the religious authorities who sought to control religious discourse.

in Jesus
The focus of the apostles' message was "in Jesus," emphasizing the centrality of Christ in their teaching. This phrase underscores the apostles' belief in Jesus as the Messiah and the source of salvation. Historically, this was a radical claim, as it shifted the focus from the traditional Jewish understanding of God to a new covenant through Jesus Christ.

the resurrection of the dead
The concept of resurrection, "anastasis" in Greek, was a contentious issue. The Pharisees believed in the resurrection, but the Sadducees did not. By proclaiming the resurrection "in Jesus," the apostles were asserting that Jesus' resurrection was the firstfruits of what believers could expect. This was a revolutionary message that offered hope and eternal life, challenging the existing religious paradigms and offering a new understanding of life after death.

Persons / Places / Events

1. Peter and John
Apostles of Jesus Christ who were actively preaching and teaching about Jesus and His resurrection.

2. The Sadducees
A sect of Jewish leaders who were particularly disturbed by the teaching of the resurrection, as they did not believe in the resurrection of the dead.

3. The Temple
The central place of worship in Jerusalem where Peter and John were teaching.

4. The Resurrection of Jesus
The central event being proclaimed by the apostles, which was a cornerstone of early Christian preaching.

5. The People
The audience in the temple who were receiving the teaching about Jesus and His resurrection.

Teaching Points

The Centrality of the Resurrection
The resurrection of Jesus is not just a historical event but the foundation of Christian faith. It validates Jesus' divinity and the truth of His teachings.

Boldness in Proclamation
Like Peter and John, Christians are called to boldly proclaim the truth of the Gospel, even in the face of opposition or disbelief.

Understanding Opposition
Recognize that opposition to the Gospel often stems from deeply held beliefs or traditions, as seen with the Sadducees. Approach such opposition with grace and truth.

The Power of the Resurrection
The resurrection is a source of hope and power for believers, assuring us of eternal life and victory over sin and death.

Engaging with Scripture
Study the Scriptures to understand the full implications of the resurrection and how it impacts every aspect of life and faith.

Bible Study Questions

1. How does the resurrection of Jesus Christ impact your daily life and faith?

2. In what ways can you demonstrate boldness in sharing your faith, as Peter and John did?

3. What are some modern-day "Sadducee" beliefs that challenge the truth of the resurrection, and how can you address them biblically?

4. How can understanding the power of the resurrection help you overcome personal struggles or fears?

5. Reflect on a time when you faced opposition for your faith. How did you respond, and what can you learn from Peter and John's example?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Acts 2:24
This verse speaks of God raising Jesus from the dead, which is the core message that Peter and John were proclaiming.

1 Corinthians 15:12-22
Paul discusses the importance of the resurrection, affirming that if Christ has not been raised, then Christian faith is in vain.

Matthew 22:23-33
Jesus debates the Sadducees about the resurrection, highlighting their disbelief in it.

Philippians 3:10-11
Paul expresses his desire to know Christ and the power of His resurrection, emphasizing its significance in the Christian life.

Sermons

Apostolic Teaching	J. Cynddylan Jones, D. D.	Acts 4:2
The First Persecution	R.A. Redford	Acts 4:1-4
Truth from the Tribunal	W. Clarkson	Acts 4:1-21
Apostolic Trials	J. Parker, D. D.	Acts 4:1-22
Bigotry	J. Alexander, D. D.	Acts 4:1-22
Christ the Power of God	Christian Age	Acts 4:1-22
Christ's Servants Before the Tribunal	E. Johnson	Acts 4:1-22
Ecclesiasticism has no Exclusive Rights	General Gordon.	Acts 4:1-22
Peter and John Before the Council	D. J. Burrell, D. D.	Acts 4:1-22
Peter and John Before the Council	Geo. M. Boynton.	Acts 4:1-22
Peter and John Examined	J. Dick, A. M.	Acts 4:1-22
Righteous Boldness	Herrick Johnson, D. D.	Acts 4:1-22
Teaching and Persecution	J. Parker, D. D.	Acts 4:1-22
The Captain of the Temple	Prof. I. H. Hall.	Acts 4:1-22
The First Persecution of the Apostles	J. Bennett.	Acts 4:1-22
The First Persecution of the Church	J. Cynddylan Jones, D. D.	Acts 4:1-22
The Four Chief Props of Apologetics	O. Smith, D. D.	Acts 4:1-22
The Miracle At the Beautiful Gate as an Epoch	D. Thomas, D. D.	Acts 4:1-22
Typical Religious Persecution	W. Hudson.	Acts 4:1-22

People

Alexander, Annas, Barnabas, Caiaphas, David, Herod, John, Joseph, Joses, Peter, Pilate

Places

Cyprus, Jerusalem, Nazareth, Solomon's Colonnade

Topics

Account, Annoyed, Apostles, Case, Dead, Distressed, Disturbed, Example, Greatly, Grieved, Highly, Incensed, Preached, Preaching, Proclaimed, Proclaiming, Resurrection, Rising, Sore, Taught, Teaching, Troubled, Upset

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Acts 4:2

     5335   herald
     7793   teachers
     7797   teaching
     8235   doctrine, nature of
     9310   resurrection

Acts 4:1-2

8779 materialism, nature of

Acts 4:1-3

7540 Judaism
8800 prejudice

Acts 4:1-4

7757 preaching, effects

Acts 4:1-20

2427 gospel, transmission

Library

Courage
Chester Cathedral, 1871. Acts iv. 13, 18-20. "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. . . . And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak …
Charles Kingsley—All Saints' Day and Other Sermons

February 16 Morning
Thy name is as ointment poured forth.--SONG 1:3. Christ . . . hath loved us, and hath given himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.--Unto you therefore which believe he is precious.--God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.--In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. If ye love me, keep my commandments.--The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

With and Like Christ
'Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.' --ACTS iv. 13. Two young Galilean fishermen, before the same formidable tribunal which a few weeks before had condemned their Master, might well have quailed. And evidently 'Annas, the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest,' were very much astonished …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

Impossible Silence
'We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.' --ACTS iv. 20. The context tells us that the Jewish Council were surprised, as they well might be, at the boldness of Peter and John, and traced it to their having been with Jesus. But do you remember that they were by no means bold when they were with Jesus, and that the bravery came after what, in ordinary circumstances, would have destroyed any of it in a man? A leader's execution is not a usual recipe for heartening his followers, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

The Wheat and the Tares
'And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that aught of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.' --ACTS iv. 32. 'And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.'--ACTS v. 11. Once more Luke pauses and gives a general survey of the Church's condition. It comes in appropriately at the end of the account of the triumph over the first assault of civil authority, which assault …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

The First Blast of Tempest
'And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, 2. Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3. And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now even-tide. 4. Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand. 5. And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

Obedient Disobedience
'But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. 20. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. 21. So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done. 22. For the man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was shewed. 23. And being let go they …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

The Servant and the Slaves
'Thy servant David...'; 'Thy Holy Servant Jesus...'; 'Thy servants...'--ACTS iv. 26, 27, 29. I do not often take fragments of Scripture for texts; but though these are fragments, their juxtaposition results in by no means fragmentary thoughts. There is obvious intention in the recurrence of the expression so frequently in so few verses, and to the elucidation of that intention my remarks will be directed. The words are parts of the Church's prayer on the occasion of its first collision with the civil …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

Scriptural Christianity
"Whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head." Ezek. 33:4. "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost." Acts 4:31. 1. The same expression occurs in the second chapter, where we read, "When the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all" (the Apostles, with the women, and the mother of Jesus, and his brethren) "with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing …
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

Christ's People --Imitators of Him
First, then, this morning, I will tell you what a Christian should be; secondly, I will tell you when he should be so; thirdly, why he should be so; and then fourthly how he can be so. I. As God may help us then, first of all, we will speak of WHAT A BELIEVER SHOULD BE. A Christian should be a striking likeness of Jesus Christ. You have read lives of Christ, beautifully and eloquently written, and you have admired the talent of the persons who could write so well; but the best life of Christ is his …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 1: 1855

The Way of Salvation
What a great word that word "salvation" is! It includes the cleansing of our conscience from all past guilt, the delivery of our soul from all those propensities to evil which now so strongly predominate in us; it takes in, in fact, the undoing of all that Adam did. Salvation is the total restoration of man from his fallen estate; and yet it is something more than that, for God's salvation fixes our standing more secure than it was before we fell. It finds us broken in pieces by the sin of our first …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 4: 1858

A Manifestation of God in Answer to Prayer
A MANIFESTATION OF GOD IN ANSWER TO PRAYER ". . . When they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness." -- Acts 4:31. This remarkable manifestation of God reveals the effectiveness of prevailing prayer. It vividly discloses the fact that prayer can accomplish much. It is apparent that neither the apostles, nor the assembled company of devout believers were astonished at the marvelous …
T. M. Anderson—Prayer Availeth Much

Against the Modern Free-Thinkers.
Sir, THERE arrived in this neighbourhood, two days ago, one of your gay gentlemen of the town, who being attended at his entry with a servant of his own, besides a countryman he had taken up for a guide, excited the curiosity of the village to learn whence and what he might be. The countryman (to whom they applied as most easy of access) knew little more than that the gentleman came from London to travel and see fashions, and was, as he heard say, a Free-thinker; what religion that might be he could …
Joseph Addison—The Evidences of the Christian Religion, with Additional Discourses

The Church of God.
More than one hundred times the words church and churches are used in the New Testament. It is always translated from ekklesia. Most translators agree that a more correct translation of this Greek word would have been congregation. "The church of God" would then have read, "Congregation of God." "The church of the first-born" would have read, "The congregation of the first-born." The church that was at Antioch would have read, "The congregation that was at Antioch," etc. What Is The Church Or …
Charles Ebert Orr—The Gospel Day

Paul at Sea. Acts xxvii. 22-25.
"There's no hope," said the captain, "the ship cannot live in such a storm." "There's no hope," said the military officer, "we shall never see Rome." "There's no hope," said the prisoners, "we shall die at sea instead of on the scaffold." One prisoner, however, had hope, and in the long run made all his companions to hope. Paul cried out, "BE OF GOOD CHEER, FOR THERE STOOD BY ME THIS NIGHT THE ANGEL OF GOD, WHOSE I AM, AND WHOM I SERVE, SAYING, FEAR NOT, PAUL, THOU MUST BE BROUGHT BEFORE CAESAR, …
Thomas Champness—Broken Bread

"And all that Believed were Together. " Acts 4:44.
"And all that believed were together." Acts 4:44. 1 Restore, O Father! to our times restore The peace which filled thine infant church of yore; Ere lust of power had sown the seeds of strife, And quenched the new-born charities of life. 2 O never more may differing judgments part From kindly sympathy a brother's heart; But linked in one, believing thousands kneel, And share with each the sacred joy they feel. 3 From soul to soul, quick as the sunbeam's ray, Let concord spread one universal …
J.G. Adams—Hymns for Christian Devotion

Ananias and Sapphira
BY REV. GEORGE MILLIGAN, M.A., D.D. One of the most striking features of the early Christian Church was what we have come to know as Christian Communism, or as the historian describes it in Acts iv, 32: "And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and soul: and not one of them said that aught of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common." It is a bright and a pleasing picture that is thus presented. Nor is it difficult to understand how such a spirit …
George Milligan—Men of the Bible; Some Lesser-Known

Whether Explicit Belief in the Mystery of the Incarnation of Christ is Necessary for the Salvation of Everybody
Whether Explicit Belief in the Mystery of the Incarnation of Christ is Necessary for the Salvation of Everybody We proceed to the seventh article thus: 1. It seems that explicit belief in the mystery of the incarnation of Christ is not necessary for the salvation of everybody. A man is not required to have explicit belief in matters of which angels are ignorant, since the faith is made explicit by divine revelation, which reaches men through the medium of angels, as was said in the preceding article. …
Aquinas—Nature and Grace

St. Cyprian.
PART I (AD 200-253) About the same time with Origen lived St Cyprian, bishop of Carthage. He was born about the year 200, and had been long famous as a professor of heathen learning, when he was converted at the age of forty-five. He then gave up his calling as a teacher, and, like the first Christians at Jerusalem (Acts iv. 34f), he sold a fine house and gardens, which he had near the town, and gave the price, with a large part of his other money, to the poor. He became one of the clergy of Carthage, …
J. C. Roberston—Sketches of Church History, from AD 33 to the Reformation

Whether There is but one Divine Law?
Objection 1: It would seem that there is but one Divine law. Because, where there is one king in one kingdom there is but one law. Now the whole of mankind is compared to God as to one king, according to Ps. 46:8: "God is the King of all the earth." Therefore there is but one Divine law. Objection 2: Further, every law is directed to the end which the lawgiver intends for those for whom he makes the law. But God intends one and the same thing for all men; since according to 1 Tim. 2:4: "He will have …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether it is Necessary for the Salvation of All, that they Should Believe Explicitly in the Mystery of Christ?
Objection 1: It would seem that it is not necessary for the salvation of all that they should believe explicitly in the mystery of Christ. For man is not bound to believe explicitly what the angels are ignorant about: since the unfolding of faith is the result of Divine revelation, which reaches man by means of the angels, as stated above [2287](A[6]; [2288]FP, Q[111], A[1]). Now even the angels were in ignorance of the mystery of the Incarnation: hence, according to the commentary of Dionysius (Coel. …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether all are Bound to Receive Baptism?
Objection 1: It seems that not all are bound to receive Baptism. For Christ did not narrow man's road to salvation. But before Christ's coming men could be saved without Baptism: therefore also after Christ's coming. Objection 2: Further, Baptism seems to have been instituted principally as a remedy for original sin. Now, since a man who is baptized is without original sin, it seems that he cannot transmit it to his children. Therefore it seems that the children of those who have been baptized, should …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether Christ Worked Miracles Fittingly on Men?
Objection 1: It would seem that Christ worked miracles unfittingly on men. For in man the soul is of more import than the body. Now Christ worked many miracles on bodies, but we do not read of His working any miracles on souls: for neither did He convert any unbelievers to the faith mightily, but by persuading and convincing them with outward miracles, nor is it related of Him that He made wise men out of fools. Therefore it seems that He worked miracles on men in an unfitting manner. Objection 2: …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether Christ Suffered in a Suitable Place?
Objection 1: It would seem that Christ did not suffer in a suitable place. For Christ suffered according to His human nature, which was conceived in Nazareth and born in Bethlehem. Consequently it seems that He ought not to have suffered in Jerusalem, but in Nazareth or Bethlehem. Objection 2: Further, the reality ought to correspond with the figure. But Christ's Passion was prefigured by the sacrifices of the Old Law, and these were offered up in the Temple. Therefore it seems that Christ ought …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

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