Praying for bold preaching

Prayer for bold preaching   

The Passage: Acts 4:23-31

Structure:

a. 4:23, the report of what happened

  b. 4:24, Sovereign Lord

    c. 4:25-26, gathered together against You and Your Anointed

    c’. 4:27-28, gathered in the city against Your servant Jesus whom You anointed

  b’. 4:29-30, Lord

a’. 4:31, continued to talk/speak  

Historical and geographical context:

St. Peter and St. John go to their friends (this can be understood psychologically/emotionally or sociologically – as those who support them). Probably, it is the same house where they were gathered to choose the replacement for Judas and/or during events of Pentecost.  

Theology:

The report. It is important to see that the unity of the church is built upon common confession, togetherness in worship, and honesty in the description of life. St. Peter and St. John go and share their unpleasant experience with the rest of the gathering. Which teaches us a value of shared lives – all the good and all the difficult episodes of our walk with God. The unity of disciples in prayer let to the similar effects like the people of Israel experienced during the wilderness – shaking of the place.    

Addressing God as the Creator. Interesting how the disciples address God as the creator of the heavens and the earth, and the sea. He is the One who has the power to create and to restructure the world. This is the reason for the parallel passage in v. 29-30, where they ask for boldness, and the continuation for the healing, signs and wonders that were performed “through the name of Your holy servant Jesus”. Holy servant Jesus is the one whom Sovereign Lord raised from the grave overcoming the power of death – this is one more reminder of the creative powers of God who is the only one who can overcome the mortality.     

Using the psalms in prayer. First, check out how easily the disciples can incorporate the text of a psalm in their prayer. Not as a starter, and not as a conclusion (like we use Lord’s prayer to conclude the meeting or so). They address God as the Creator of the Universe and then apply the text of Psalm 2 for their particular situation. Or, better put – they see their situation through the lenses of Psalm 2. Which presupposes years of practice of praying using the Psalter.   

Inspiration of Scripture. There was no questions or confusion among the believers on the sources and the Source of the Word. For sure they recognized the difference in authorship of different parts or books of the Bible. That’s why NT writers often go back and mention Isaiah (Lk. 3:4-6), Jeremiah (Mt. 2:17-18). Here the communion of saints reflected on the words of king David. At the same time without any hesitation, they state that David was moved by the Holy Spirit when he wrote the psalm. Similar thought we can find in 2 Pet. 1:19-21. Thinking about the nature of Scripture, Peter says that the Word that we have is true (v. 19). His reasoning is based on the fact that prophetic word was not done according to the will of men, but “men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (v. 21).   

Other themes:

Saying everything up to this point creates an interesting hermeneutical challenge (challenge for interpretation) – the attribution of Ps. 2 to David. The Hebrew text of the psalm (as we have it right now) does not have the superscription referring to David’s authorship. Does it post a contradiction? No, because this is a perfect example for us to see that the Bible is a Book that should be read in its entirety. There are parts of the Old Testament that help us to understand the mission of Messiah (Mt. 21:4-5) or the ministry of the Church (1 Cor. 10:11). At the same time there are parts of the New Testament that clarify and add a nuance or two to our proper understanding of the events, people, and situations that happened before the Incarnation of the Son of God. Therefore, the inspired voices of the disciples said that Ps. 2 is written by David. So be it!