These small group Bible studies of Acts 4:13-22 contain commentary, discussion questions, and practical application. Visit our library of inductive Bible studies for more in depth inductive studies on this and other books of the Bible you can use in your small group.
Acts 4:13-22 Bible Study and Questions – Obey God Rather Than Man
Discussion Questions
• How did they think of Peter and John?
• Were Peter and John “uneducated” and “common” as they thought?
• What did they conclude about where Peter and John got such boldness?
• How had being “with Jesus” changed them?
• How have you been changed by being “with Jesus?”
• Would people around you be able to see such a clear difference in your life after having a relationship with Christ?
• How much time had they spent “with Jesus?”
• What are some practical ways you can spend more time with Him?
• If they couldn’t deny the miracle, why would not believe in Jesus by whose power the miracle had been done?
• What were they so afraid of? Why were they so insistent that this “not spread farther?” Did they simply hate it when sick and diseased people were healed?
• What do you learn from Peter and John’s response?
• Since God commands that people obey the government, why did they refuse and say that obeying their leaders would be disobeying God?
• What can we learn from this passage about the hierarchy of authority?
• Have you ever faced a situation where you had the moral obligation to disobey an authority?
• In what other Scriptures can you see believers facing a similar choice?
• Do you also feel that like Peter and John you “cannot but speak of what [you] have seen and heard?”
Cross-References
1 Thessalonians 2:4 – But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.
Acts 5:29 – But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.
Verse by Verse Commentary
1. Their perception of Peter and John –
A. They saw their boldness –
Peter and John’s enemies were impressed by their boldness in a high pressure situation.
B. They were shocked that “uneducated” and “common” men could be so confident –
Peter and John were uneducated according to their standards. They hadn’t gone through the same training that the religious leaders would have. They hadn’t been trained under one of their rabbis or gone through whatever theological “seminaries” or “schools” they had then.
Certainly, they were not illiterate as both of them wrote part of the New Testament. In addition, all Jews had some religious training.
Most importantly, they had been trained by Jesus. The education they received was far better than anything they would have gotten from the Pharisees. And they were far from common. These were the men who would eventually turn the world upside down (Acts 17:6).
While the religious leaders knew a lot of facts and had lots of practice with speeches, they were ignorant of the truth. These men were puffed up. Their pride blinded them to the truth that was in front of them. Professing to be wise, they became fools (Romans 1:22).
God’s wisdom is very different from worldly wisdom.
1 Corinthians 2:14 – The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 3:18-20 – Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.”
You can have a high IQ and a P.H.D. from an elite Ivy League school and still be completely ignorant about the things that matter.
Institutions and governments have always tried to use “education” as a means to conform people to what they want them to be. Nebuchadnezzar did this when he took the youth from Judah and put them through a three-year Babylonian University brainwashing school. They were given new names, a new lifestyle, and encouraged to change their identity to conform to the regime, the system that had actually enslaved them (Daniel 1).
Satan is not done using the education system to spread his propaganda.
Believers should be very wary of the world’s education system. The higher up you go, the more liberal and non-biblical most schools tend to get. While only 4% of the US population at large professes to be atheist, 15% of community college professors identify that way, and 37% of professors at elite schools such as Harvard are atheists or agnostic.
Many schools are pushing a secular, materialistic, and humanistic agenda. It is no wonder that many professing believers turn away from Jesus and embrace worldly wisdom while at university.
The disciples could rightly have said, “If your education system taught you to reject Jesus, we want no part of it.”
We can and should say the same today.
Application – Where are you going for your education? Where are you sending your children to be educated? Do not blindly trust the world’s education system. Be wary. It is your responsibility to raise up your children in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4). Do not outsource this responsibility to others who are not followers of Jesus.
Proverbs 22:6 – Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 – And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
2. Self-confidence vs. God-confidence
Peter and John had been “with Jesus.” This changed them. It also gave them confidence. That confidence was not in themselves, but in God. Over the years, they had witnessed the Lord do many amazing things.
Self-confidence
“Self-confidence is a superpower. Once you start to believe in yourself, magic starts happening.” – World 101
God-confidence
Philippians 4:13 – I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Self-confidence
“If you believe in yourself and feel confident in yourself, you can do anything.” – World 101
God-confidence
Matthew 19:26 – With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
Self-confidence is popular, but is it Biblical? Guess how many times the word “self-confidence” appears in the Bible?
The answer is zero.
In all of Scripture, we are never told that we should have confidence in ourselves or our own ability. Actually, we are warned against this repeatedly. We are reminded about how weak our flesh is and how we need God.
Jeremiah 17:5-9 Thus says the Lord:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
and makes flesh his strength,
whose heart turns away from the Lord.
He is like a shrub in the desert,
and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land.
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
This says that putting our trust in any man, whether a politician, a pastor, or ourselves is futile.
I have asked many people, “What do you believe in?” Many have answered, “I believe in myself.”
This is a form of idolatry.
Such people vastly overestimate their own strengths and abilities. They vastly underestimate their own weaknesses and sins.
We should not trust in ourselves because we are weak. How often do you rely on your own flesh?
• Do we tell ourselves “I won’t get angry with my family today” and then lose it?
• Is there a temptation or addiction you are facing that you are sure you can just will away, and then it comes back again?
• Do you trust in your own ability to teach a class, ace an exam, or preach a great sermon?
If we are to be a good disciple of Jesus, we need to put away our self-confidence.
What does that look like? That doesn’t mean you go into an interview with slumped shoulders and downcast eyes, answering questions with a mumbled “I don’t know.” It doesn’t mean we are timid or shirk back from opportunities to serve God.
We are to replace that self-confidence with God-confidence.
Proverbs 3:26 – For the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.
That is the very essence of what it means to be a disciple. When we come to Christ, we stop believing in ourselves. We recognize our sins and our weaknesses. We acknowledge that we are lost and helpless to save ourselves. We don’t stop trusting in anything. Instead, we transfer trust from ourselves to God.
Did Noah lack confidence when he built the ark? No, his confidence was in God to help him complete this monumental task.
Did David look like someone who was timid and lacked confidence when he faced Goliath? No, he was supremely confident that God would give him the victory.
Was Peter afraid to preach the name of Jesus when the Jewish leaders opposed him? No. He preached boldly but relied on Christ. The Jewish leaders saw this bold confidence and realized he had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13).
Christians do not lack confidence. We just place our confidence in the Lord.
Application – Depend on the Lord, not your own flesh.
3. They had been “with Jesus” –
Being “with Jesus” changes people.
Reflect – How can you be “with Jesus?” Has He changed you?
4. They were hard-hearted and wanted to turn off the light –
By their own admission, a miracle had taken place (Acts 4:16). Yet they still refused to re-evaluate their position. Instead, they commanded Peter and John to stop talking about Jesus.
When Lazarus was raised from the dead, they wanted to kill him to get rid of the evidence (John 12:9-11).
When the man with the withered hand was healed, they conspired together to destroy Jesus (Matthew 12:9-14).
Why did they do this? Pride, jealousy, and loving their own power were all part of it.
Here is another reason. Their deeds were evil and the light hurt.
John 3:19 – And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
When I was growing up, I shared a room with my brother. Sometimes he walked in late at night and turned on the light. It hurt my eyes so I buried my head in the blankets and shouted, “Turn it off!” That is like what they were doing here.
5. Obeying God rather than man –
Peter makes an amazing statement here and declares publicly that he is going to obey God no matter what. It was not that he had disdain for his nation’s leaders. God commands us to respect and submit to governing authorities.
But Peter rightly recognized that he had a higher authority. If the human authorities stood in the way of obeying God, God comes first.
There is a hierarchy of authority that God has designed. At every level, we should be respectful and submit to our leaders. However, if doing so violates a higher authorities clear command, we must obey the higher authority. And God is the highest.
A parent is a higher authority than a teacher. If a teacher gives a conflicting instruction to a parent, the child should obey his parent.
Application – Believers should not adopt a cavalier or rude attitude toward earthly authorities. We should not go around flaunting rebellion and saying, “We follow God! We don’t have to listen to you!”
But in those cases where someone tells us to disobey God, we must humbly and steadfastly refuse. We are, after all, citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20-21).
6. We must speak of what we have seen and heard –
I love this. Peter says, “We can’t and won’t be silent! We have to speak up!”
How amazing it would be if believers around the world had this same attitude. Let us not be silent. Let us testify of God’s goodness in our lives. Share your testimony!
Psalms 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!
Leave A Comment