Session 4: Peter and John Before the Sanhedrin (4:1-22)
It did not take long for the disciples to get the attention of the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. Soon the word spread of the healing of the crippled man and quickly John and Peter were summoned to appear before the highest tribunal of the Jewish community, the Sanhedrin court.
1. What was the demeanor of the officials who confronted Peter and John?
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2. What was the significance of the first question asked by the court? ______________
3. What empowered Peter to speak? ________________________________________
4. How did Peter answer their question? _____________________________________
5. How solid is your faith in the statement contained in 4:12? ____________________
6. How did the court respond to Peter and John? ______________________________
7. After the Sanhedrin consulted together, what action did they take against them?
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8. What was the reply by the apostles to the judgment handled against them?
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9. Why was the court powerless to take action against them? ___________________
10. What was amazing about the healing that caused this controversy?
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A Prayer for Boldness (4:23-31)
After the apostles were released by the Sanhedrin they did an amazing thing – they had a prayer meeting!
1. Where did Peter and John go after they were released? _______________________
2. How did the believers respond to their report? ______________________________
3. In their prayer, how did they express their view of the persecution they faced?
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4. How was God’s hand in all that was plotted and committed against Jesus?
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5. How would God bring about the fall and destruction of Jesus’ enemies?
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6. What did the disciples ask God to do? ____________________________________
7. How would they be enabled to carry out God’s work? ________________________
8. What divine phenomena occurred after their prayer? _________________________
9. What did they experience and do after their prayer? __________________________
The Church Coming Together (4:32-37)
Bolstered by the events beginning with Peter and John healing a poor crippled man, the disciples were on a spiritual “high”. This passage shows how they came together with a singleness of purpose and a spirit of unity.
1. How important is it for the church to be “one in heart and mind?”
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2. What must we give up as individuals in order to achieve such a sense of purpose?
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3. How is their ministry characterized in 4:33? ________________________________
4. Do you ever feel spiritually “powerless”? Why? ____________________________
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5. How do you feel about the selfless sharing that is described in 4:34-37?
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6. How would you rate our church in the following areas.
Area Weak Average Above Average
Worship
Teaching
Reception of new members
Reputation in Community
Sense of Awe
Prayer life
Love for each other
Outreach to the community
Grade how you rated our church by giving each “Weak” response a value of 1; Give each “Average” response 2; and each “Above Average” response 3. Add the total of each column. A perfect score is 24, a passing grade is 15.