INSTRUCTIONS: Pray. Read the text. Then use the questions below as guides to write out what you have learned from the text. You can go as deep or as basic as you choose. You may choose to only answer based on the text you are studying, or you may decide to use other passages from the Bible, commentaries, or additional outside sources of information. You can answer in any order. You may choose to spend one day in only answering from the text and another day filling in information from other sources. You may add additional details that are not asked for in the narrative study format, such as historical context, archeological information, or questions you have for further study. Always complete your own study before reading my example so that you do not limit your own thinking.
And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of
the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were
teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was
already evening. But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the
number of the men came to about five thousand. On the next day their rulers and
elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest
and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly
family. And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power
or by what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said
to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today
concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been
healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by
the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from
the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone
that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And
there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven
given among men by which we must be saved.” Now when they saw the boldness of
Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were
astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. But seeing the
man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.
But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one
another, saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has
been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and
we cannot deny it. But in order that it may spread no further among the people,
let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” So they called them
and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter
and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to
you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have
seen and heard.” And when they had further threatened them, they let them go,
finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God
for what had happened. For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed
was more than forty years old.
Characters Who is this story about? List all of the people in the story and what you know about them. In addition, there maybe animal, plant, and supernatural characters in the story. Of course, every story will include God as a main character. Sometimes, His presence is obvious, but sometimes, you must look deeper to find Him in the story.
Setting: Where and When? Check out maps to understand the relationship of ancient places to modern countries. How is this place connected to other places that you have read about? Is this place different from the locations just before this story started? Where will the characters go after this story is finished? Does this place have any spiritual significance? Part of the answer to this question might be a specific date and time of day, but a more important answer looks at what events happened before, what events happened after, and most importantly, what other events are occurring simultaneously. It is important to compare the events of the Bible with other historical events that were happening at the same time, but it is even more important to compare various Bible stories and events with each other. For example, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel all provide differing perspectives on what was happening during one specific time period, so the other two books can provide a lot of insight to explain the situations occurring in a story from one of the other books.
Plot (Problem and Solution) What is the problem happening in the story? Why is the problem happening? Could the problem have been avoided? What are the consequences that result from the problem? Was the problem resolved? If so, how was the problem resolved? What was God’s preferred solution? What solutions did humans try that were not in alignment with God’s way of handling situations?
Text-to-Text Does anything remind you of other verses that you have read in the Bible? Do you want to search deeper for more texts that speak about this subject? If so, what is the consensus of the texts that you found, i.e., what lessons were communicated by the majority of the texts and were they different from the story that you are studying?
Text-to-World What general lessons about life are in the text? What similarities do you see between the story and our modern world? What differences are there between the story and today’s world?
Text-to-Self What specific application can you find for your own life, i.e., what message is the Holy Spirit trying to give you from this story? Have you ever experienced any situation similar to the story? Would you have reacted differently than the characters? If so, why
Text-to-God What does this story reveal about God and the way that He interacts with humans? Did God approve or disapprove? How do you know? Is there anything confusing about God in this story?
My Example Bible Study
Note: You can go much deeper than this example with lots of connections and details. You can also use this narrative format for studying the Bible at a more basic level with fewer connections and skipping textual cross-references. This format can be used to suit your own needs at the present time. You may decide to fill in more information at a later date when you have more time. I recommend that you either type or write your ideas because this is an attempt to understand the Bible at a deeper level. Thus, you may want to refer back to your notes and add information as you learn more.
Narrative Bible Study—Acts 4:1-22
Characters
Peter and John—The two disciples of Jesus were speaking to the people at the temple about Jesus when they were arrested. When they were questioned the next day, the religious leaders described Peter and John as uneducated, common men. As such, the leaders expected them to be easily coerced, but Peter and John were bold and courageous refusing to be intimidated. Peter answered respectfully, but he would not follow their orders to stop speaking of Jesus to the people. Peter and John knew that their Lord was more powerful and knowledgeable than all the learned men that surrounded them, so they were not impressed by the worldly religious power of the rulers of the people. Their priority was to serve the ruler of all of humanity, the King of all Creation.
The Healed Man—The former crippled man is not present in this scene, but he is the reason that a crowd of people had surrounded and listened to the disciples. Seeing his healing, was probably partly why so many people not only listened, but also believed Peter’s words. He was a sign that caused the leaders to be cautious in their handling of the disciples. One new fact is added here. Since this man had been lame from birth and he was forty years old, he had been crippled for forty years before being healed. It might be possible for a young man to be healed by common methods, but at forty, the body was breaking down, not growing stronger. Thus, his age made the miracle all the more impressive.
5,000 Listeners—They gathered because of the commotion being made by the formerly lame man and stayed because of the words of the miracle workers, but they believed because of the Holy Spirit’s conviction. Between the knowledge of Jesus’ miracle working while He was alive, the stories of His resurrection, the lame man dancing and jumping around in excitement, and the testimony of his healers, the doubts of many of them were vanquished.
The priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees—This group was attracted to the commotion and when they heard the topic of Peter’s discourse, they arrested Peter and John. The Sadducees were probably doubly offended because they refused to believe that anyone could be resurrected from the dead.
The religious rulers—This included the rulers, elders, and scribes. It is specifically stated that the high priestly family was there: Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and Annas, who was the present high priest. These men were not of the line of Aaron. They were appointed by Rome rather than God. They bought their position rather than being gifted it from heaven. They were in it for the power. This was the same high priest and his father-in-law who had condemned Jesus to death, and now they were faced with his followers doing the same kind of miracle that Jesus had been known for. Killing Jesus had not worked out, so they were not as ready to condemn John and Peter to death as they might have been previously. They were also conscious of the 5,000 supporters who were probably still in the temple area tensely waiting for their verdict. Chances were that they would cause a riot, which would bring the power of Rome down on the heads of those who instigated the riot, i.e. the rulers.
The Father—The rulers claimed to serve Him, but did not recognize His power and representatives when they were sent to them. Peter and John had total faith that they were serving Him and in His desire and ability to protect them, or if they were to die, to resurrect them from the dead into the rewards awaiting them in the heavenly promised land. The Father was still reaching out to the religious rulers, priests, and scribes to open their eyes so that they could see and serve their God rather than worldly power. Even after Jesus had ascended into heaven, the Father was still fighting to rescue as many of His people as possible, even the ones who had rejected Him by condemning His Son of blasphemy. He had not given up on His people yet and was still reaching out to them.
Jesus—Jesus’ death and resurrection was why Peter and John had no fear of their judges. He had been through the worst that these men could throw at Him, and He had triumphed in such a way that the disciples knew that the court had no power over any of Jesus’ representatives. Jesus had the keys to hell and the grave, so they were free of any fear of earthly power. No threat of torture or death could reach them because they had seen Jesus face down these men and their punishments and win.
Setting: Where and When?
The story is set in the temple in Jerusalem and in the meeting area of the religious rulers. As Peter and John were entering the temple a lame beggar asked for money. Instead, Peter healed him. The two disciple proceeded to enter the crowded temple. The healed man accompanied them jumping and dancing and shouting for joy. This attracted the attention of a great number of people, especially because many of them knew that this man had been crippled since birth. This led to an opportunity for Peter to preach about Jesus to about 5,000 men. The crowd and the beggar’s rejoicing and Peter’s sermon attracted the attention of temple authorities. They decided that the only way to stop the preaching was to arrest the two disciples. Thus, the second setting of the story was the temple’s prison where the disciples spent the night since it was already late in the day when they were arrested. The following morning, the disciples were taken before the Sanhedrin (wherever they met). The disciples were released some time later on that same day, so altogether, the situation probably took about 24 hours.
Plot (Problem and Solution)
The temple guards arrested Peter and John in conjunction with some priests and Sadducees. The disciples spent the night incarcerated and were taken to their trial the next morning. They were questioned by the Sanhedrin, who were confused by the disciples because they were not educated, rich, or powerful, yet they faced the highest rulers of Israel with confidence and poise. The leaders did not investigate the miracle itself, but instead, they questioned the source of Peter’s power to perform the miracle. Peter claimed that his power came from Jesus. In effect, Peter was telling them that they were not rid of Jesus, even though Jesus no longer walked among them. They had crucified their opponent and He had bounced back from the grave. He had ascended to heaven, so they may have thought that He was taken care of even if He was no longer dead, but now they were faced with His representatives. Jesus had been a worthy opponent, but now they had uneducated fishermen from Galilee performing miracles and gathering crowds. This may have been more intimidating than having an equal as an opponent. If even the most common of men could be transformed long distance by Jesus, what else would they be facing? On the other hand, they seemed to have been blind to this possibility in some ways. Instead, their biggest fear was not power from heaven. It was public outcry from their own people. They refrained from punishing the disciples because the people themselves were supportive of the miracle and might turn against the leaders if the disciples were not freed. First, they commanded Peter to stop preaching Jesus. Peter replied that they themselves should see his viewpoint. If heaven commanded it, he would do it. He could not choose the commands of humans over the commands of God. He had to do and say whatever his Master Jesus ordered him to say and do. Also, Peter was telling them that he was only speaking the truth of what he had seen. He was pointing out that they were trying to get him to bear false witness. The Sanhedrin threatened them with what would happen next time if they did not stop preaching Jesus in Jerusalem. Then they released the disciples.
Text-to-Text
Peter’s answer reminds me of Paul’s statement about not being ashamed of the gospel. Both have the idea that they cannot keep quiet about what they know. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16). It also reminds me of the man who was blind from birth being questioned by the synagogue leaders. He answered without fear. They tried to intimidate him also, but he had lived a life of being an outcast before Jesus changed his life, so the rulers could not intimidate him with the threat of excluding him from the synagogue since these very same people had never included him before anyway. “ The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” (John 9:30-33). One of the benefits of receiving everything after having nothing and no expectation of having anything is that you believe that the one who gives you everything is superior to those who want to take your newfound way of life from you. I pray that I will have that same perspective, but I fear that I too often do not value Jesus enough and fall for the devil’s threats.
Text-to-World
One commonality I see between the Sanhedrin and many people today is that even when faced with overwhelming evidence of God’s presence in their lives and world, they ignore the obvious by focusing on their own worldly concerns. They never explore the implications of dealing with the supernatural that is also inherently good. They cannot comprehend that a being with ultimate power does not use that power to enforce His will. Thus, He is either not present and just a figment of the imagination, or He is not worth considering since He has not used force on them.
Text-to-Self
I wish that I could experience the joy that the lame man felt after his healing. Too often, I take God’s gifts for granted rather than cherishing and rejoicing in them.
Text-to-God
God keeps trying. Even when people harden their hearts, He keeps trying to soften them and open their eyes. He continues to try until there is not even the slightest possibility of reaching a person. God can create situations where His messages can be received by great numbers of people. I do not know how to reach people, but God can take an ordinary day where people are going about their own business not thinking about Him much and create a situation where thousands of people are suddenly focused on the message that He has for them. He is an expert at softening hearts and opening blind minds, and He will persistently use both everyday and supernatural methods to reach our hearts. I pray that my heart will be open to You.