Bible Study on Acts 4, verses 23 to 31, they spake the word of God with boldness

 

Acts 4:23 ¶  And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. 24  And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: 25  Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? 26  The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. 27  For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, 28  For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. 29  And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, 30  By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. 31  And 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.

 

Verse 24 is a wonderful acknowledgement about God creating all things confirmed in other places than Genesis, chapter one. God’s creation of the universe is not only confirmed by Moses, writing Genesis under the inspiration of God, but also Isaiah.

Isaiah 42:5  Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:

Isaiah 45:18  For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.

King David;

Psalm 33:6  By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.

And the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

Mark 13:19  For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.

Verses 25 and 26 quote the great Psalm that most of us understand prophetically to be about the millennial reign of Christ although like Peter’s use of the prophecy in Joel talked about in Acts 2 all prophetic statements may have a past, present, and future fulfillment. Peter uses it here to underscore how futile man’s rules against proclaiming Christ are to be. Those who do not believe in a physical, millennial reign of Christ on earth will say that this Psalm was fulfilled here and that’s that although to say that denies the implications of its message from verse 7 onward.

 

Psalm 2:1 ¶  Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? 2  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his

anointed, saying, 3  Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. 4  He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. 5  Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. 6  Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.

 

7 ¶  I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. 8  Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and

the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 9  Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

 

10 ¶  Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. 11  Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12  Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish

from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

 

There are many prophecies in the Bible that have more than one application, an immediate and a future, as we have seen. Verses in Psalm 2 show that its ultimate fulfillment will come at the end of the millennial reign of Christ, as we will see more clearly in Revelation. The prophecy quoted here in Acts will be used again in chapter 13.

 

With verse 31 I want to restate something said earlier. Commands were given to the Apostles whom Jesus showed Himself to for forty days after His resurrection. The disciples were ordered to assemble together at Jerusalem and to wait for the Holy Ghost to be given to them. Jesus had already given the Holy Ghost to the core Apostles

 

John 20:22  And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

 

The presence of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Ghost, in the believer, it seems can be renewed.

 

Titus 3:5  Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6  Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 7  That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

 

The question I have to ask is if while we are sealed and secure with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit does God renew it in us as we are sanctified for Him in life? Could that be what the following mean more fully?

 

Ephesians 5:18  And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

 

We are saved once and indwelt with the Spirit as Paul relates the absurdity of being saved and lost again and again in Hebrews 6:1-6. In the following passage Paul shows that if you could lose your salvation you could not get saved again. It appears he is trying to get Christians to move beyond salvation to our sanctification.

 

Hebrews 6:1 ¶  Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, 2  Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. 3  And this will we do, if God permit. 4  For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5  And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,

6  If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

 

So, the question would be, are we praying to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to be renewed in the power and mind of God over sin and self? Or are we satisfied and complacent about this unspeakable gift?

Bible Study on Exodus 12, verses 29 to 36, the LORD smote all the firstborn

 

Exodus 12:29 ¶  And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle. 30  And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead. 31  And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said. 32  Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also. 33  And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men. 34  And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders. 35  And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: 36  And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.

So, now God kills the firstborn from the highest to the lowest to the cattle. There was no one higher than Pharaoh or lower than a prisoner in his dungeons. Even the cattle were affected that the state and the populace depended on so for food. Cattle includes several different animals that mankind was dependent on.

Genesis 47:17  And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses: and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year.

Exodus 9:3  Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain.

Exodus 34:19  All that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male.

Why this seemingly symbolic death among the firstborn of the cattle? What was the significance of this? First remember God’s possession.

Psalm 50:10  For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.

Exodus 13:2  Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.

No one owns property and no one owns an animal. All property and all life belongs to God, who created it. Under Capitalism everything belongs to an individual; presumably the hardest working, most ambitious, the most clever, or the strongest and well-born. Under Socialism everything belongs to the people through the government which then consists of  ambitious, clever, strong, and ruthless individuals. Both are blasphemous lies. All things belong to God and He will give all things to His people in time.

1Corinthians 3:21 ¶  Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; 22  Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; 23  And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.

Man is a steward of God’s possession and the Christian must remember that. We have dominion under authority of God. Dominion is power over something as defined in Ephesians 1:21 and Jude, verse 25.

Exodus 19:5  Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:

Psalm 50:12  If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.

The firstborn of man and beast was to be set apart or sanctified for God’s purpose. This plague foretold what God would require of the Hebrews.

In typology man is born like a wild ass’s colt and can only be redeemed with a lamb, who is Christ.

Job 11:12  For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass’s colt.

Exodus 13:13  And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem.

1Peter 1:18  Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19  But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 20  Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, 21  Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

Every household in Egypt suffered under this judgment. If you believe in the world of spirit, that is, if you believe in the Bible, there is a seamless flow from this physical world of flesh and blood into the world of spirit where an entirely different type of life, which we hardly can begin to understand, exists. As the physical universe represents less than 5% of what must be, as even atheistic scientists believe, the world of spirit is far greater than anything we can imagine. So, little babies and innocent beasts did not simply cease to exist or began suffering in some kind of manufactured place like Limbo but take their place in that world.

The Pharaoh is now ready to drive the Hebrews from the land. This is a terrible tragedy. The firstborn among men was to inherit and all of the heritage of a man passed through his all-important firstborn. The firstborn among beast was to be set apart for God and we will see this in Exodus 13:2. Keep in mind that all beasts belong to God but the firstborn among the Egyptian and later the Hebrew beasts were His for a special purpose.

            The Hebrews are ready to leave Egypt and the Egyptians weigh them down with abundant necessities for the trip and much treasure. Good riddance, I can imagine they thought. Just go away lest we all die.

Bible Study on Acts 4, verses 15 to 22, What shall we do to these men?

 

Acts 4:15 ¶  But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, 16  Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it. 17  But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. 18  And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19  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.

 

Peter and John are now sent to wait outside. This is a cause of grave concern because it is impossible to deny that this healing has happened. News of it is spreading. If these men can do the work that Jesus did, healing the sick and the lame, who can say but what His claims were true and maybe their claims are, as well. This news has got to be squelched right away.

 

Peter and John now declare, not only to them but to us, the grounds on which we may disobey any civil law. There is no law that has any authority over the Holy Spirit that works inside of us. No law can contain that Spirit.

 

Galatians 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

 

We are called to be witnesses for Christ and to make disciples.

 

Matthew 28:19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

 

The leadership, probably caught between the amazement of the people for this miracle and the danger to their position if this aroused a disturbance that would come to the attention of their Roman masters, can only threaten them and then let them go. They were always torn between trying to squelch what was being preached or trying to ignore it for fear of public unrest.

 

Mark 12:12  And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way.

 

John 11:46  But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done. 47  Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles. 48  If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.

Bible Study on Exodus 12, verses 21 to 28, the sacrifice of the Lord's passover

 

Exodus 12:21 ¶  Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover. 22  And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. 23  For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. 24  And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever. 25  And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. 26  And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? 27  That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD’S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped. 28  And the children of Israel went away, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.

Moses summarizes the instructions to the elders and gives them a curious warning that has doctrinal implications for us. If they follow the instructions the LORD will pass over their door and will not suffer, which means permit, the destroyer to come into their homes.

Who or what is the destroyer? It is not capitalized as a proper name. There is some agent, an angel or spirit who destroys. But, who can that be?

Is this the angel of the LORD, the presence (Isaiah 63:9) of Jehovah God who devastated the Assyrian army?

2Kings 19:35  And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.

Or performed the slaughter at Jerusalem when David counted the people?

IChronicles 21:14  So the LORD sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men. 15  And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the LORD beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.

We will see in the next passage that the LORD, Jehovah, did smite the firstborn. We know from other passages that He often uses a spiritual agency or individual to accomplish His purpose yet He Himself is said to be the cause of it, hence the reference to the destroyer.

Judges 9:23  Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech:

1Samuel 16:14  But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.

The complexity of reality, from our finite minds’ position, is that these kinds of things, God’s agency and exerting power on our physical universe, are happening so many times a second that it is impossible for us to fathom it. Here, though, is a very special event, a monumental moment in human history where God’s power, as God’s power, is being displayed to the world and to posterity after hundreds of years of the spiritual decay of mankind from the Fall of Adam. There was Creation of the physical universe, the fall of man introducing death into life, the Flood that reduced mankind to a few people, there was Babel that divided mankind into different languages and dispersed them around the earth, and there is the Exodus from Egypt where the world’s greatest superpower of the time was brought to its knees. In these actions and judgments, we see a big picture of God’s power and sovereignty.

Verse 28 shows us that this was one of the few times that the children of Israel did as they were told.

Bible Study on Acts 4, verses 5 to 14, Neither is there salvation in any other

 

Acts 4:5 ¶  And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, 6  And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. 7  And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? 8  Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, 9  If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; 10  Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. 11  This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. 12  Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. 13  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. 14  And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.

 

Notice the use, in verse 7, of the word power for authority.

 

Luke 4:36  And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.

 

Here are leaders in the temple and the high priest and members of his family, also priests, with Annas and Caiaphas having been the high priests in their turn at the beginning of John the Baptist’s ministry a few years earlier.

 

Luke 3:2  Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.

 

They may have taken turns in that position. One source I read said that the Romans appointed the High Priest during their occupation before the rebellions that resulted in the temple being destroyed.

 

John 18:13  And led him away to Annas first; for he was father in law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year.

 

Priests served in family groups or clans.

 

2Chronicles 35:4  And prepare yourselves by the houses of your fathers, after your courses, according to the writing of David king of Israel, and according to the writing of Solomon his son. 5  And stand in the holy place according to the divisions of the families of the fathers of your brethren the people, and after the division of the families of the Levites.

 

Luke 1:5 ¶  There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth…8  And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course,

 

Peter has preached yet another sermon, this time to the rulers. He has witnessed to proselytes from the many countries in which Jews had been scattered, to the people visiting the temple, and now to the rulers. No one has any excuse. Peter’s boldness can be attributed to the Holy Ghost and if you look at the sermons he stays right on track.

 

He accuses them of crucifying Christ who defied their authority by rising from the dead. What a statement!  

 

Verse 11 refers back to Psalm 118:22 which both Jesus and Peter quote as well.

 

Verse 12 is a meaningful statement not unlike John 14:6.

 

John 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

 

Here is one fulfillment of a promise Christ made.

 

Luke 12:11  And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: 12  For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.

 

The leadership understands that these common, uneducated men had been with Jesus and they were impressed with their boldness to talk about Him. The healed man was evidence in their favor as well that left the leadership of the Jews nothing to say.

Bible Study on Exodus 12, verses 1 to 20, the Passover

 

Exodus 12:1 ¶  And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2  This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3  Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: 4  And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. 5  Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: 6  And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. 7  And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. 8  And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9  Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. 10  And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. 11  And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’S passover. 12  For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. 13  And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. 14  And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. 15  Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. 16  And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you. 17  And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever. 18  In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even. 19  Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land. 20  Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.

God lays out the beginnings of the Hebrew calendar. The month that they leave Egypt is to be the first month.

Verses 3,4, & 5 give us an understanding of Christ.

3  Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: 4  And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. 5  Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:

He is a lamb, a sacrifice and ransom to God, the propitiation to satisfy God’s wrath for mankind’s sins against Him. He is the lamb, the only way to salvation. He is your lamb, who died for your sins on the cross at Calvary and rose for your justification.

Every man’s lamb was kept from the tenth day to the fourteenth day of the first month, at which time it was killed. Its blood was smeared on the side posts and on the header. There were specific rules as to how it should be cooked and eaten. Nothing was wasted and nothing was left. It was to be eaten with the person dressed ready to leave quickly.

This was to be called the Lord’s Passover. God is going to pass through the land of Egypt and kill the firstborn of man and beast. Even the gods of Egypt are being judged which is another reference to events going on in the spirit world that we cannot see. This is evident in descriptions in Revelation also that fundamentalists often try to make as events and persons in the physical world in which we live but seem clearly as things not visible to us but causing visible things, seen only from the heavenly realm itself. Again, here is another proof that there are events going on that we cannot see.

2Kings 6:15  And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? 16  And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. 17  And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

God will pass over and spare the Hebrews by virtue of the blood on their doorposts. It is the blood of their lamb that saves them and God’s recognition of it, nothing else. He didn’t say, “I’m going to spare you because you are a wonderful people of whom I am so proud.” No, it is the blood of a lamb, the lamb, their lamb that saves them.

This day is to be memorialized and never forgotten with a week of remembrance bracketed by the people drawing together in a holy convocation, an assembly, like a special church meeting today. For seven days they would eat unleavened bread, a symbol of their hasty flight and unpolluted. Leavened bread was a symbol for Christ of the pollution of the Pharisees, the religious elite of His day on earth, of God’s commandments in Luke 12:1.

Leaven is something added to dough, typically yeast, to make it ferment and rise. It would be something added to Biblical doctrine, for instance, additional rules God never intended.

Matthew 23:23  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

It renders faith meaningless to God. For instance, in prescribing long prayers to feel

spiritual.

Matthew 6:7  But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

It includes things that may have their uses but makes them a sign of your faithfulness to God when they are not something He required.

Mark 7:1 ¶  Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. 2  And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault. 3  For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. 4  And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables.

For instance, wearing a business suit to church may satisfy a man’s conviction to dress his best when he comes to church but when he makes it a doctrine for proof that another Christian who does not share that belief is not genuinely committed to worshipping God he, like a Pharisee, mingles leaven with God’s words.

There are many other things that can be included in this comparison like certain rituals, church words, ceremonial observances, and demands on time and money that would have been impossible for early Christians. The most striking leaven, though, would be to add something to the simplicity of Biblical Salvation in order to distinguish your doctrine from other people’s worship. You are probably about to add leaven after you say or think something like, “If they were real Christians they would…..”

This would be called the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For one week from the 14^th through the 21^st of the month only unleavened bread would be eaten. There was to be no leaven at all in their homes.

Luke 22:1  Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover.

Bible Study on Acts, chapter 4, verses 1 to 4, they preached through Jesus the resurrection of the dead

 

Acts 4:1 ¶  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 eventide. 4  Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.

 

God uses Peter’s preaching to bring great numbers into the early church. The religious authorities cannot stand what they view as seditious behavior so they arrest the Apostles. There are a couple of English words used in the Bible for a place where people were confined for various reasons. Here, we have hold. Prison and ward are also used elsewhere.

 

It is interesting to note that the Sadducees were part of this group that made the arrest.

 

Acts 23:8  For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.

 

Back in 3:15 Peter referred to Christ’s resurrection which would have seriously perturbed this sect of the Jews. Josephus, the Jewish general turncoat who worked for the Romans and wrote histories of the Jews claimed that they believed that the soul could die, that there was no afterlife, that there were no rewards or penalties after death, and that only the written law was valid. They were composed of the upper class and educated elite who oversaw the temple operations and shared with the Roman upper class a denial of the reality of the supernatural. They did, apparently, believe in God but were more political and worldly than the more conservative Pharisees, and they were composed of a ruling class that expected God’s benefits and prosperity now, in this life, and denied even His intervention in history, sources say. They would have been terrified of anything that threatened their position under Roman authority.