The first Christians faced an unparalleled crisis. Peter and John were ordered by the Sanhedrin to cease teaching in the name of Jesus (Acts 3:1-4:22).[1] This censuring from the court posed a significant dilemma upon the disciples as such present profound implications upon Christ assignment for them to be His witnesses from Jerusalem to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8; cf. Matt. 28:19). Peter and John gathered with their friends to explain the dilemma and pray for boldness (Acts 4:23).
God in Control: Together, the disciples lifted their voices in prayer to God, addressing Him as the “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them” (Acts 4:24).[2] In doing so, they acknowledged Him as the supreme ruler—the Creator of heaven, earth, and sea, along with all who dwell within those domains. Every authority on earth, including the Sanhedrin, owed its very existence to Him and remained subject to His rule. In the face of their predicament, the first Christians found their confidence in the Sovereign Creator, knowing that He alone would sustain them.
Psalm 2: The disciples then prayed the opening lines of Psalm 2. They affirmed those very words came from the Sovereign Lord and Creator who through the mouth of their father David, His servant, spoke by the Holy Spirit (Acts 4:25a). They indeed recognized the writing of Psalm 2 to be divine rather than merely human in origin (cf. 2 Pet. 1:20).
Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, David said,
“Why did the Gentiles rage,
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers were gathered together,
against the Lord and against His Anointed”
(Acts 4:25–26; cf. Ps. 2:1–2).
The psalmist exhibited astonishment over the fact that God and His Anointed were fiercely rivaled by the Gentiles, people, kings and rulers.[3]
Whereas David composed Psalm 2 out of his own experiences as God’s anointed ruler, the early disciples discerned manifold application of the psalmist’s words to Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, the Anointed One. Thus, they continued in prayer, saying: “For truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place” (Acts 4:27–28).
The “Gentiles,” “kings,” “peoples,” and “rulers” who raged against the Lord’s anointed in Psalm 2:1–2 therefore correspond directly to Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Gentiles, and the peoples of Israel who opposed and crucified the Christ. Yet the disciples also recognized that even though these opponents acted out of their own evil intentions, they could only do what God’s hand and predestined plan had already determined.
I. Howard Marshall explains that the quotation from Psalm 2:1–2 in Acts “follows the LXX exactly” and can be “interpreted on three levels:”: its original historical context, its later messianic development, and its application by the early church. Originally, the psalm served as a royal address to reassure an earthly king that the rebellious efforts of subject nations were futile against God’s installed ruler on Zion. Over time, because the psalm’s extravagant language exceeded the reality of ordinary Judean kings, it was reinterpreted within the collected Psalter as a reference to a future Messiah (as seen in the Psalms of Solomon and the Dead Sea Scrolls). Finally, the New Testament authors apply this decree to Jesus—notably at his baptism and in his resurrection, and “the point of the citation is to confirm from Scripture that when the rulers of the world rise up against the Lord and his Anointed One, their attacks are doomed to failure.”[4]
Three Petitions: The disciples then petitioned the Lord to first “look upon their threats” (Acts 4:29a). Recall the Sanhedrin made threats to deter the disciples from going against their ruling to cease teaching in Jesus’ name.
Then Christ’s followers asked, “Grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness” (Acts 4:29b). Since openly teaching about Jesus would set the fledgling church up against a powerful opposition, they need God to give them courage.
Their final petition is for God to “stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus” (Acts 4:30). But no imprecations are uttered from the mouths of the disciples. Rather, they asked for healings to continue being done by God’s hand and that signs and wonders performed in the name or authority of God’s holy servant Jesus. Circumstances made it impossible for the disciples to carry out their assignment of being Jesus’ witnesses in the world by their own strength, so they called upon the Lord for nothing is impossible with God. God works the miraculous.
When they had prayed, the gathering place shook, they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they carried in boldness proclaiming the word of God (Acts 4:31).
Application: The nations continue to rage against God and His Anointed, just as the first Christians faced opposition when the Sanhedrin commanded them to stop proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus. This pattern has persisted in every era since the issuing of the Great Commission.
One of the most insidious assaults against God and Christ has been the proliferation of counterfeit “Jesuses.” In the modern era, for example, scholars associated with the “Third Quest” for the historical Jesus often distinguish between the “Jesus of history” and the “Christ of faith,” rejecting His divinity and bodily resurrection while recasting Him as a Cynic philosopher, an apocalyptic prophet, or a political revolutionary.
Other movements likewise redefine Him: New Age spirituality presents Jesus as an enlightened master or avatar, New Thought portrays Him as a “way-shower” who reveals a universal “Christ consciousness,” and Islam honors Him as a prophet while denying His divine sonship.
Even within professing Christianity, widespread biblical and theological illiteracy has contributed to a subtle reshaping of Jesus into a mere moral teacher, life coach, or therapist—one who affirms personal preferences while avoiding the call to repentance and submission to His lordship. Alternative portrayals, such as those found in the Word of Faith movement or certain postmodern reinterpretations, further recast Jesus in culturally accommodating ways.
In all these cases, the result is not an outright denial of His name, but a radical redefinition of His identity. False Jesuses ultimately lead people away from the living God, shaping the mind and heart — our inner most being — in ways that exchange the truth for a lie.
By contrast, the message proclaimed by Peter, John, and the early disciples—that Jesus Christ of Nazareth was crucified and raised from the dead—corresponds to reality and stands at the very center of the Christian faith. They were eyewitnesses to His death, burial, and resurrection, and this formed the core of their proclamation. When the Apostle Paul writes, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received” (1 Cor. 15:3), he indicates that he is passing on a tradition he himself had received. As Craig S. Keener notes, Jewish teachers commonly transmitted their teachings through such careful preservation and repetition.[5] Indeed, 1 Corinthians 15:3–5 preserves an early Christian creed, widely dated to within just a few years [6] — perhaps even months[7] — after Jesus’ crucifixion. The proclamation of Jesus Christ risen from the dead, therefore, was not a later theological development or myth, but the foundational message of the earliest Christians, as also recorded in the Acts of the Apostles.
Acts 3:1–4:31 reminds us that, despite the formidable opposition of those who rage against God and His Christ, believers stand on a firm foundation in Jesus—the cornerstone—who secures their victory over darkness. The early Christians witnessed a lame beggar healed in the name of Jesus, and as a result, five thousand men came to faith in Him. Moreover, the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, empowering them to continue proclaiming the word of God with boldness. From the beginning, the Church has remained steadfast in its calling to bear witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
— WGN
[1] Peter and John healed a lame beggar at the Beautiful Gate of the temple in the name of Jesus (Acts 3:1-10). Those who witnessed the man had been healed leaping and praising God they sought out the disciples at Solomon’s Portico. Peter shared with them that Jesus Christ who died and resurrected worked the miracle (Acts 3:11-26). But the priest, captain of the temple, and the Sadducees arrested them (Acts 4:1-4). The next day, the disciples stood trial before the Sanhedrin, and Peter filled with the Holy Spirit credited the resurrected Jesus for doing the good deed of healing the beggar. Despite recognizing a notable sign had been performed and that the man who suffered with the infirmity since birth was over forty years old, they nevertheless ordered the disciples to cease teaching in the name of Jesus. Peter, however, insisted the disciples could not but speak of what they seen and heard, The Sanhedrin threatened but then released them (Acts 4:5-22).
[2] All Scripture cited from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Ac 4:24–30.
[3] Psalm 2 is a royal psalm. The psalmist begins with expressing astonishment at the nations and their rulers who oppose the Lord and His Anointed (Ps. 2:1–3). He acknowledges that in response God mocks His opponents and declares that He has established His King on Zion, His holy hill (Ps. 2:4–6). He affirms the king as His begotten Son, promises Him the nations as His inheritance and the ends of the earth as His possession, and assures Him of victory over His enemies (Ps. 2:7–9). The psalm concludes with a call to wisdom and a solemn warning to the rulers of the earth: they are to serve the Lord with reverence, show proper allegiance to the Son, and recognize that all who take refuge in Him are blessed (Ps. 2:10–12).
[4] I. Howard Marshall, Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, ed. G.K. Beale and D.A. Carson, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2007), 552–553. LXX is the abbreviation for the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translations of the Hebrew Old Testament which were produced roughly between 100 BC and 100 AD and used by the New Testament writers.
[5] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 1 Co 15:3.
[6] Gary R. Habermas, The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ (Joplin, MO: College Press Publishing Company, 1996), 124
[7] James G. D. Dunn, Jesus Remembered: Christianity in the Making (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2003), 855; cf. Michael R. Licona, The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach (Downers Grove, InterVaristy Press, 2010), 234, n. 140.
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