6th Sunday of Easter ’11 – Acts 5:12-16
For the past few weeks we have been considering Luke’s summary descriptions of the first church in the Acts of the Apostles. In Acts 2:42-47 we saw that the common worship and life of these Christians resulted in an effective and attractive presence in the world. Then last week in Acts 4:32-35 we took a closer look at the sacrificial unity that was at the heart of their common life. Now this week in Acts 5:12-16 we have the opportunity to take a closer look at one of the ways that they maintained an effective and attractive presence in the world. That’s really what we see in this morning’s lesson. We see the world sitting up and taking notice of the ministry of the apostles (effective) and many of them being drawn to the Lord as a result (attractive). Now the context of this effectiveness and attraction is the miraculous healing ministry of the apostles, which might seem to make it a little difficult to apply this passage to our context. You’re not going to find me sharing the stage at the Bi-Lo Center with Benny Hinn in an attempt to apply this passage. And yet, I believe there are some important lessons for us to learn from this passage. Indeed, I believe that the church in our day can and must maintain this kind of effective and attractive presence in the world.
So what will this look like? Well, in order to see how this passage should shape our practice, first I want us to consider the healing ministry of the apostles as Luke introduces it in v. 12 and unpacks it in subsequent verses. In particular I want us to think through how this ministry relates to our own. Second, I want us to consider the effect that this ministry had upon those inside and outside the Church in v. 13. Then, third, I want us to consider how this ministry attracted those outside the Church in vv. 14-16.
The first thing we need to consider is the nature of this healing ministry of the apostles as Luke introduces it in v. 12 and unpacks it in the verses that follow. In v. 12 Luke writes, “And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people.” The phrase “the people” in this verse is a reference to those Jews and others living in Jerusalem at the time. So Luke is describing a public ministry of the apostles to those outside the newly established Church. In the second half of the verse we learn that this ministry was ordinarily performed “in Solomon’s Porch,” which was a covered area that ran along the eastern wall in the Court of the Gentiles constructed by Herod. This location afforded the apostles an ideal location for ministry to those making their way into the temple or those consigned to the outer courts. And Luke says their ministry to these folks consisted of “signs and wonders.” From 3:1ff. we know that teaching also formed a part of their ministry in Solomon’s Porch, but here Luke is drawing our attention to these “signs and wonders.” What are they? Well, in short they were miraculous deeds performed by the apostles to bear witness to the arrival of the kingdom of God in Jesus Christ. Broadly speaking signs and wonders could take the form of both words (tongues, prophecy) and deeds (healing, exorcism, and other miracles), but again Luke’s emphasis is on deeds. And in this passage the miraculous deeds in question are healing and exorcism (v. 16).
Now I’ve already indicated that I don’t expect such miraculous deeds to be performed in our context, so how should we understand the relationship between this apostolic ministry and our own? Well, I believe that this apostolic ministry of “signs and wonders” was part of the foundation of the Church. I refer to this ministry of “signs and wonders” as being apostolic because of what Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12:12, “Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds.” Here Paul describes “signs and wonders” as “the signs of an apostle,” meaning that by performing these “signs and wonders” he demonstrated his apostolic office. Furthermore, through these miraculous “signs and wonders” the apostles (and NT prophets) provided a once for all witness to the once for all work of Jesus Christ. We see this understanding of the uniqueness of apostolic and prophetic ministry in Ephesians 2:19ff. where Paul describes the Church as “having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone.” The idea being that you only lay a foundation once. The apostolic ministry of signs and wonders can no more be repeated than can the cross.
That being said, however, I want to maintain some continuity between the apostolic ministry of signs and wonders and the ministry of the Church in the present. For starters I would want to distinguish between various “hard” and “soft” forms of cessation, the term used to refer to the fact that miraculous gifts have ceased. Although I agree that miraculous gifts and offices have ceased, I also believe that God is free to work however He wants to. Furthermore, I believe that certain contexts, such as mission fields in which the Church is not established nor the Bible translated, are analogous the situation in the 1st century and that God can and often does demonstrate the truthfulness of the gospel in miraculous ways in these settings. But then, second, I believe we should go on to state that the gospel still requires some form of demonstration or attestation in our context. And while I don’t believe that this will ordinarily take the form of miracles, the form that it does take often bears some relationship to healing and exorcism. Let me unpack that.
When we read (v. 16) that “sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits” were brought to the apostles and “were all healed,” I hear in this a description of the church as the place where those who those lives are wrecked by sin and the curse are brought to find relief and restoration. Although we can’t offer “healing” beyond the anointing with oil and prayer by the elders, we can offer merciful care and support. We can offer food and drink, clothing and shelter. We can offer counsel and prayer. We can offer a community of love. This is precisely what we see at various times throughout the later history of the early church. A plague would strike a town. The pagans would leave and the Christians would move in to care for the sick and dying. They weren’t always or even often able to heal these folks, though some they nursed back to health. Instead the ministry they performed was one of mercy. Yet it bore witness to God’s love in Jesus Christ just as powerfully as did the apostolic ministry of healing. So these are the kinds of things that I want us to have in mind as move on to our second point.
The second thing I want us to consider is the effect that this ministry had on those within the church and without in v. 13. This verse describes the effect that the apostle’s ministry of signs and wonders had on two groups of people. In the first half of the verse we read, “Yet none of the rest dared join them…” This appears to be a reference to believers who were perhaps scared to join the apostles because of the threat that their ministry posed to the Jewish leadership. Following the healing in Solomon’s Porch recorded back in chapter 3, Peter and John were imprisoned. And the same fate awaited the apostles on this occasion because in vv. 17ff. we read that they were all imprisoned. So you can understand why “none of the rest dared join them;” doing so was dangerous. And while not many of us face the prospect of imprisonment in our ministry of welcoming and caring for the sick and oppressed, some will likely be intimidated by this kind of ministry. And that’s ok. It’s not for everybody. In this context it was the apostles. Later on it would likely have been the deacons. Still later various lay orders such as deaconesses, nuns, and monks assumed these responsibilities. We need to think through what it would look like for us to take this ministry more seriously.
In the second half of v. 13 Luke describes the effect of this kind of ministry on those outside the church, “…., but the people esteemed them highly.” The Jewish leadership may not have thought much of the apostles, but the people did. The word translated “esteemed them highly” means “to magnify or praise.” As the people observed the ministry of the apostles to the sick and oppressed and saw the power of God at work in them, they held them in honor. They talked about them. I believe the church in our day would see a similar response from the world around us if they were to observe us welcoming and caring for the sick and oppressed in tangible ways. What’s #1 criticism of the church in our day? Hypocrisy. Studies have been done which show that generally speaking non-Christians like Jesus, but not the church. Why? I think a lot of it has to do with the discrepancy between the way that Jesus interacted with outsiders and the way that we often do. The fact of the matter is that when the church has taken seriously her calling to minister to those in need, the world takes notice. And that’s not all they do.
The third and final thing I want us to consider is the how this ministry attracted those outside the church in vv. 14-16. In v. 14 Luke describes the response of those outside the church to the ministry of the apostles, “And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women.” Here we see a large scale and, based on the tense of the verb, ongoing conversion of “multitudes” of unbelievers. So these folks not only receive healing; they receive a new understanding and commitment to the person and work of Jesus. The deed ministry of the apostles was never separated from the ministry of the Word. Demonstration and proclamation always go hand in hand. In the context of our ministry to those in need this would involve clearly communicating the reason for the care that we extend to folks. We explain to the sick and the oppressed that we are functioning as the hands and feet of our Lord; that in the mercy we extend to them they can come to know the love of God in Jesus Christ for them.
There’s one other thing to note concerning the attraction of these multitudes to the Lord and His church. They don’t come alone. In vv. 15-16 we see that they bring the sick along with them. This really should be the natural response to God’s grace in Jesus Christ. We want others to experience what we have found in being rightly related to God and one another. Luke tells us in v. 16 that the word spread to the cities all around Jerusalem and they brought their sick and those tormented by unclean spirits and they were all healed to. What we see is an outbreak of the kingdom of God. Instrumental to this outbreak however are the servants of the King who bring others along with them and who welcome others into the kingdom and minister to their needs. There’s no way the apostles could have done this alone and there’s no way the officers of our church can do it alone. The ministry that we’ve been called to exercise requires the active involvement of each and every one of you. We’re counting on you to do your part. For some of you that will mean getting more serious about hospitality. For others it will mean being responsive to the deacons as they seek recruit folks for various forms of service within and without over the next few months. For all of us it means looking beyond ourselves to the folks that God has put in our lives who are in need of His grace and salvation. This is the ministry of “signs and wonders” to which we’ve been called. For when we extend God’s mercy to the sick and oppressed, welcoming them into the church, that is a “wonder” a mighty deed of God and a “sign” that the kingdom has come in Jesus Christ. Let us pray.
