And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us.” But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”—Acts 5:27–32

Introduction 

Quick, think of the most valuable or expensive thing you would buy if money were not a limitation. Now think about some experience you would enjoy highly, like a dream trip. Where would you go, and what would you do? Now think about some earthly position or role of power that you would like to have. What would you do in that role?

Now what is the first thing that comes into your mind when you hear the name “Jesus”? What do you picture?

Jesus defies description in the sense that no one word or phrase can fully capture or frame all that he is. Here is the word that has captured my heart whenever I compare Jesus to anything: “above.”

Earthly treasures, pleasures, and powers can be so appealing and so impressive, but Jesus is above all of them. He is God Most High. He is God Most Worthy. He is high and lifted up—elevated and exalted in his supremacy over all earthly things. When we compare them, we see that there is a supreme separation between Jesus and all earthly things. How do they stack up against Jesus? They don’t. He is so much greater than anything you could put on the other side of the scale. He is utterly above them.

But it gets better. He is also the supreme source and sustainer of all things. There is complete integration with all earthly things in the sense that all things were made by him and for him. He is the supreme point at the top of all things, but he is also the source to which all things point. All creation exists to be a pointer to him, not the point. Therefore, all beauty, all virtue, all wisdom, all power points to him as source, depends upon him as sustainer, and bows to him as supreme. You can’t get more “above” than that. You can’t get bigger, better, stronger, wiser, or higher.

Bethlehem, am I describing the Jesus you worship? Visitors, would you like to join us in holding high the supremacy of Christ? Unbelievers, we are glad you are here. You may not believe a word of what I have just proclaimed, but I am bold with hope that God could bring you to a place of embracing all of it. Maybe even by the end of this message.

The Christian heart beats with this hope for everyone. I want to have the same heart that the apostle Paul had when he preached to King Agrippa in Acts 26: “and Agrippa said to Paul, ‘In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?’ And Paul said, ‘Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am—except for these chains.’”

Yes, our great longing is that all creation would join us in embracing and celebrating the centrality of Christ. If the cross of Christ is the crimson thread of every message, then the glory of Christ is the golden thread of every message.

In light of this, nothing is more out of place than neutrality when it comes to Jesus. The claims are just too great to sit on the fence when it comes to him. When it comes to preaching Christ, I would rather be yelled at than yawned at. I am happy for this opportunity to face opposition because it often means that people are beginning to understand the staggering claims that Christ makes. Neutrality feels entirely inappropriate to me, almost indecent. Let us not be infected with the sinister thought that the loftiest thought we can have is our western culture’s idea of tolerance. Jesus stands above our culture’s view of tolerance, not beneath it.

We interact with this cultural view every day. Mack Stiles, an evangelist in Dubai, has said that Christians in many parts of the world fear the raised fist while Americans fear the raised eyebrow. It seems like there are more raised eyebrows than ever. There is also name-calling, which is very in vogue against Christians. Name another religious or social group that is the target of as much name-calling. I don’t have a forecast for you. I don’t know when raised fists may come, but here is what I see now: an increasing and widespread shaming of Christians.

What is the strategy behind the shaming? Silencing. There are surely some that want to shame you away from Christianity altogether, but the more effective strategy is to shame you into silence. A silent Christianity mirrors no Christianity. “It is fine if you are a Christian as long as you back down at the right time. You can hold your views on whatever in the privacy of your own home or at church, but we will tell you what you can and can’t say in public. Say less, claim less, and hold it with less confidence. So as long as you don’t mind being marginalized and muzzled, we can co-exist peacefully.”

Silencing is the goal of shaming, and the attempts at that only seem to be increasing. There is always talk about restrictions even on what the church is allowed to say within the church, from the pulpit. Sometimes it seems like earthly powers want to verbally beat us into submission like a naughty dog. They are fine with Christianity as long as it has a leash, a shock collar, and a muzzle if needed.

It is ironic that culture in its anti-Christian manifestation thinks that the only possible sin is God declaring certain things to be a sin. This is certainly a change from what past generations experienced. It is very different than what members of Bethlehem have experienced the 140 years that our church has existed. But these changes bring us more in line with the experience of believers through the centuries. We could look back to the Old Testament, but this morning I would like to fix our eyes on the first-century church.

I want God to use this message and the next three to give us a vision for the future. It will be a four-part series that begins with this message, where we will look to the past, to the beginning, to get our bearings for our vision for the future. This sermon sees the big picture connection between speaking and spreading God’s name. Today we are going to focus fully on the text that gave us this series’ title: Fill These Cities.

The second sermon adds the Spirit to the equation. The third sermon focuses a little more on the church and will feature more application in terms of how we plan to spread at Bethlehem Baptist Church. The fourth sermon will look to the future and build in our hearts the invincibility of God’s purpose. The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

Let’s read the text together and look at the phrase that jumped out and grabbed me so fully a few months back.

And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”—Acts 5:27-32

How was Jerusalem filled with the teaching of Jesus? How do we fill these cities? Here is the answer (and main point today): There is no spreading of God’s name without speaking his name.

That main point will only make sense in the context of this text. It provides an outline of three realities in the life of the early church. First, the early church was being shamed, and people were attempting to silence them (v. 27–28). Second, they were speaking (vv. 29–32), and thirdly, the name of Jesus was spreading (v. 28).

Silencing: The Strategy of the Opposition

I sometimes hear a wish from some Christians that the church today would look more like the description of the early church in the book of Acts. I do too, but let’s be careful what we wish for. Maybe we won’t look like they did until we face what they did. I will gladly face what they faced in order to do what they did for Christ. Let’s glimpse some of what they face by reading the first two verses of our passage for today.

And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.”—Acts 5:27–28

I admit that I enjoy the exasperation of the Jewish leaders in our text for today. They are throwing every threat and ounce of authority they have at the disciples. I imagine a fight in which they are emptying their kitchen cabinets, throwing everything at the disciples but the kitchen sink—and they would throw that if they could. They are exasperated and annoyed that the disciples did not obey their “charge” from the previous chapter. Go to the middle of Acts 4 with me.

“What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.—Acts 4:16–18

They don’t want the teaching about Jesus “to spread further among the people.” They view Christianity as a disease, and they want to quarantine it to keep it from spreading. It gives us a unique window into what Christianity is as we see it through the eyes of the opposition. They thought of Christianity as an “airborne” disease. The disease spreads by speaking the name of Jesus. The only way to keep it from spreading is to keep Christians from speaking. So that became their strategy. “Just keep them from speaking.”

They were right about everything except the disease part. The fame of the name of Christ is spreading, but it isn’t a disease, and it doesn’t bring death; it actually delivers from death and brings eternal life. It is powerful, and nothing can stop it from happening because Christ rules above all earthly powers. But some are still attempting; they are trying to bury Jesus again. But it didn’t work the first time, and it won’t work this time. They are no match for God’s resurrection power. Jesus is risen, reigning from heaven, and calling his disciples to the witness stand to speak of him and for him. That is point two: speaking.

Speaking: The Strategy of the Church

But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”—Acts 5:29–32

There is a crystal clear choice here; it is either God or man (v. 29).

The Jewish leaders must have had that déjà vu feeling, as if they had just heard that response. That’s because they had. Look back at Acts 4 and how they responded to the original charge from Peter and John. The choice before them is crystal clear.

But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”—Acts 4:19–20

The disciples put the decision back in the Jewish leaders’ court. “You consider the choice: If you were in our shoes, would you give more weight to God’s judgment or your judgment? It is not really a choice at all. For us the answer is clear: we cannot stop speaking of what we have seen and heard” (v. 20). The disciples and the apostles can’t deny what they have seen and heard. They are saying, “We cannot deny what we have seen and heard because we are defined by it.”

Now the same charge gets brought up again in our text. Not surprisingly, Peter gives the same answer. He says, “Didn’t we tell you what the right answer was? Let me make it crystal clear for you.” “But Peter and the apostles answered, 'We must obey God rather than men'” (Acts 5:29). “God is the rightful owner of everything including our very obedience. God owns our obedience.”

Obeying God was a non-negotiable to Peter and the apostles. It was precious in their sight. They would rather die than disobey. You can’t stop a church like that. They are dead-set on speaking, and they didn’t fear punishment or death because they knew that Jesus had already defeated it.

My friends, God’s authority is the ace of spades in every discussion. People want to flash their status, salary, or virtues as their high card, but God has the ace of spades. He trumps everyone, every time. His authority is always higher.

But notice that God’s authority is not the only thing that is on display in our text. Look at the way the disciples answer. Sometimes getting people to tell the truth is like pulling teeth, but these disciples are eager to speak his name. They will take any opportunity. Don’t miss this point. They are given the charge to defiantly teach about Jesus, and they are using any moment to do just that.

Let’s get the point that is very clearly in front of us. I want to look quickly at three aspects of their response.

First, one of the reasons they are so dead-set on speaking the name of Jesus and not fearing death is because Jesus already defeated it. They have nothing to fear. In verse 30 they say, “The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.”

Second, they are bold because God has already exalted Jesus at his right hand. They speak of his name as high and lifted up because God has lifted him up. Jesus is not a name of disease, but the name of deliverance from death through repentance and forgiveness. The disciples proclaim this in verse 31, saying, “God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.”

Third, they speak of him because they are witnesses, and they have been summoned to the witness stand. The Holy Spirit joined them at the witness stand because God has given the Spirit to help those who obey him (unlike the religious leaders). Peter says, “And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him” (v. 31).

This “witness theme” takes us back to Jesus’ commission right before he ascended to heaven (Acts 1:1–11). They have their commission from the King. He has conquered the grave. He is risen and ascended to reign. The King who has all authority in heaven and earth has given his charge and commission to be his witnesses. No one can trump the authority of this Kingly commission. He spells it out clearly for them.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.—Acts 1:8

Jesus, the King of the universe, is calling his disciples to a cosmic witness stand and charging them to testify. They are his witnesses. They can’t be silent.

I want you to take a moment and ponder how diametrically opposed the charge given by earthly powers and the charge given by God who has all authority in heaven and earth. The charge given by the Jewish leaders could be summarized as this: “Do not keep speaking; Be silent.” But Jesus charges us to keep speaking and not be silent. Listen to how clearly Jesus states this charge for Paul in Acts 18:

And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.—Acts 18:9–11

The early church did not waver in their resolve to speak rather than be silenced. Look at what they said back in Acts 4:12: “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” They were saying, “We won’t choose another name because there is no other name. If we can’t speak about Jesus, then we can’t be a church, and salvation cannot spread to the ends of the earth.” They will not be silent, and therefore the fame of the name will spread, and he will bring salvation far as the curse is found. A church that is happy to speak of Christ is a church of Christ. And the opposite is also true: A church that will speak of anything but Jesus Christ is not a church of Jesus Christ.

Look at how Acts 5 ends. The Jewish leaders are ready to respond the same way they responded to Jesus. They want to condemn the disciples to death, but a Pharisee among them (Gamaliel) offers a wise warning. He proposes a cause-and-effect test. He makes the point that if God is truly behind what is happening, it can’t be stopped, but if the disciples’ teaching is the work of man, it will come to nothing.

So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.—Acts 5:38–42

The religious leaders intensified the charge not to speak of the name of Jesus again by beating the disciples. But the disciples rejoiced that they were counted worthy to experience dishonor for the name of Jesus. They delighted in his name so much that they delighted in being able to experience the dishonor that came with holding up his name.

If we are going to be punished and called out for something, let us be found on the right side of this one all-important issue. Yes, we stand with Christ. May it be the case that there is enough evidence to convict us if we were ever arrested for being on the side of Jesus rather than being let go with all of those who oppose him or are silent.

Spreading: What Happens When Speaking Wins over Silencing

I love a quote I read this past summer: “People are far more willing to receive Jesus than Christians are willing to speak him” (Dispatches from the Front). The opponents of Christianity could not stop the spreading of Jesus. They feared that if they did not stop speaking of Jesus, the spreading would continue. Now they acknowledge the inevitable result: spreading leads to filling. Look at verse 28. The religious leaders say, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.”

Let me give you an illustration. Imagine a bathtub. What happens when there is a stopper in the drain and you turn the water on? Eventually the water will fill the tub. That was what had happened. The bathtub of Jerusalem had been filled with the water of the teaching of Jesus. The opponents have tried everything to get the disciples to turn the water off, but they won’t do it.

What happens when a city is filled with the teaching of Christ? The church grows and multiplies. Acts 1:8 said that the spreading of the teaching would increase the number of believers and that it would start in Jerusalem. Jerusalem would be filled with the name of Jesus, and then Judea and Samaria will be filled. The filling will even extend to the ends of the earth. I love the way that Luke makes this point over and over and over again.

And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.—Acts 6:7

But the word of God increased and multiplied.—Acts 12:24

And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region.—Acts 13:49

So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.—Acts 16:5

So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.—Acts 19:20

Gamaliel’s proposed test ends up proving that the disciples’ teaching if effective. The book of Acts is the story of the opponents of the church trying to resist the irresistible and contain the uncontainable. They end up on the wrong side because they find that they have an Almighty opponent. Nothing is more foolish than to try to beat Him.

Application 

The Connection Between Speaking and Spreading 

Look at the connection between speaking and spreading. The early church grew only as the word about Jesus increased and multiplied. Spreading happened because speaking happened. Where Jesus is spoken, grace will increase and new births will abound. Therefore, the results are up to God, but we should have this connection firmly fixed in our minds and hearts. Faith comes by hearing and hearing from the word about Christ (Romans 10:17). Do you see it? Faith comes by hearing, and hearing only comes by speaking the word of Christ. We can’t create faith, but God creates it through our speaking.

Therefore, the question is this: How can we cultivate a culture here at Bethlehem that is eager to keep speaking the name in the face of all the attempts around us to silence us? If we want the tub of the Twin Cities to be filled, let us make sure that we don’t turn the faucet off. Let’s let the water of Jesus to fill our cities up to the brim. Next week we are going to look at the Spirit’s role in giving us the power to proclaim and prize the preeminence of Christ.

Our Commission is Costly But Not Complicated 

“Fill These Cities” is a commission or a charge from Jesus. It is clear: Speak and don’t be silent. It is costly, but it is not complicated. Earthly powers and certain cultures may give the opposite charge: don’t speak and be silent. The disciples have already decided they would rather die than disobey. Have you? Have we?

There is a lot to lose. You may lose popularity. You could lose opportunities for advancement. There are examples of students not getting accepted into graduate schools because of their Christian profession. You may lose your livelihood. That is happening today. Refuse to take pictures at a homosexual wedding or bake a wedding cake, and you could lose business. If enough people rally against you, they can put you out of business. A day is coming when you may lose your business or your freedom because you’ll have to spend time in prison. A day could be coming in which you lose not just your livelihood, but your life. That is already happening all around the world today.

But look what we can’t lose: eternal life. Jim Eliot, missionary and martyr, said it well, “He is no fool who gives up what he can’t keep to gain what he can’t lose.” That perspective will help us keep speaking.

The Clarity and Cost of Our Commission Informs Our Prayers 

The phrase “Fill These Cities” is both a commissioning from Jesus and a prayer to Jesus. When the church faced threats in Acts 4, I want you to see what they prayed for. They did not ask for protection but boldness to keep speaking.

And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.—Acts 4:29–31

The Lord answered their prayer. The Spirit filled them with the result that they “continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”

I want to address a specific example of sophisticated silencing: the accusation of bigotry when preaching that there is only one way to be saved.

To be clear, we need to speak the name of Christ with boldness, not bigotry. The connection must be firm in your mind between bold truth and bold love. Right now the most popular label the world wants to put on us as Christians is “bigot.” Bigotry is defined as “a person who strongly and unfairly dislikes other people.” I have heard Joe Rigney from Bethlehem College and Seminary speak about how God called Adam to faithful naming of God’s world back in the book of Genesis. In that account, the devil comes along and tries to twist God’s definitions with deceitful naming.

That is so true in our culture today. I believe that Satan stands behind all the attempts to falsely name or define “love.” So many of those definitions contradict our very commission from God. There is a battle for naming. The culture wants to define “love” in a way that by definition silences the preaching of the gospel. But like the disciples, we say, “We must obey God rather than men.”

Preaching the name of Christ is the ultimate form of faithful naming. All the teaching we do here about the name of Jesus (in children and youth classes to adult classes to the preaching from the pulpit to sharing in our neighborhoods to global outreach) is all faithful naming because there is no other name by which we must be saved than the name of Jesus.

Don’t buy the lie that says it is bigotry to preach that Jesus is the only one way to be saved. It is not bigotry but bold love. I think David Platt had the best response I have seen.

If you rehearse the story of how we got to this point, it all starts to make more sense. God created the world and everything in it. He created it good as a paradise and an overflow of his love for his creatures. Adam and Eve did not crush Satan’s rebellion against God’s authority; they joined it. Humanity was plunged into a tragic and bitter history of sin and death and judgment, but God’s promise to save is announced (Genesis 3:15) in the same breath as he pronounces judgment. A child born of a woman would come to crush the serpent’s rebellion and save people from the consequences of joining the rebellion. God keeps sending preachers to tell them to trust his promise and his plan to bring this Messiah. They kept rejecting his word and killing his preachers. Finally God sends his Son in the fullness of time. He preaches the good news of the gospel, and then he purchases the good news on the cross. The highest point of the rebellion (the murder of the Son of God) was the highest point of God’s long-suffering love. He didn’t wipe everyone out like he could have. God raised Jesus from the dead, and he is now ascended on high. He has poured out the Holy Spirit to convict us of our rebellion if we bow before King Jesus and receive what he has done in our behalf by faith. Faith simply means we rely on him alone to save us. 

Now we look at the question with fresh eyes, and we see how out of place it is to arrogantly quibble about the narrowness of there only being one way. David Platt says that what should amaze us is not that there is one way—but that there is a way at all. Be amazed that God is still willing and able and eager to save rebels. God is love. He gives eternal life to sinners who have made a mockery of his name. He upholds the worth of his name by sending the Son of God to bear the wrath of God so that we can all be swept up in the love of God. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). It is amazing love. Preaching that is not bigotry—it is bold love.

It is refreshing to see that sometimes even unbelievers who disagree with us can see at least agree at the overall level, even if they don’t share our conclusions. Gamaliel was an example in Acts 5. An atheist, Penn Jillete (one of the two magicians in the magician duo called Penn and Teller) does not buy the lie that evangelizing is hateful. Quite the opposite.

I’ve always said that I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize. I don’t respect that at all. If you believe that there’s a heaven and a hell, and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life, and you think that it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward—and atheists who think people shouldn’t proselytize and who say just leave me along and keep your religion to yourself—how much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that? I mean, if I believed, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that a truck was coming at you, and you didn’t believe that truck was bearing down on you, there is a certain point where I tackle you. And this is more important than that.—Penn Jillete

We are not going to tackle people; we are going to tell them about Jesus.We are not claiming that we are better or superior. We don’t elevate ourselves. We are saying that Christ is better, Christ is superior, and Christ is elevated and exalted above all. He demands all worship and all allegiance. He alone purchased eternal life for us. You can’t buy it, but you can receive it if you receive him. His claims are absolute.

What would it look like if people really understood that every knee will bow and every tongue should confess that Jesus is Christ is Lord? It should happen now, willingly, or it will happen later, forcefully. You can confess him or reject him, but you cannot ignore him.

Christians, pause for a moment now at the end of this sermon and consider all the ways that we have failed to step up to the witness stand as witnesses for Christ. Think about all the times that we have failed to speak and have been silent about the power of the blood of Jesus.

My own failure feels great.

It is great, but it is not stronger. Our failures can be just one more thing that tries to silence us, but we don’t have to be silenced because “where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more.” The grace of Jesus’ blood is stronger, sufficient, and super-abounding. It’s amazing, isn’t it? The blood that we have failed to proclaim powerfully covers all of our failures to proclaim it. His forgiveness is stronger by far than all our failures.

Let us not let past failures define us and deepen our ruts of silence. Let us press on past the past into a new future in which we speak in bold love. May the blood of Jesus break through in fresh ways as you hear it speak a mighty, resounding, and triumphant note of “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). May we respond, not with silence, but with singing as we pray together that Jesus’ name will be lifted higher and will truly fill these cities and the world.