Drawing on a sermon by Pastor David Jang, this reflection explores the message of the resurrection in Acts 4, the boldness given by the Holy Spirit, and the love of the early church community. It considers the gospel and hope that the church must hold fast to today, while thoughtfully tracing the path of faith that proclaimed the name of Jesus even in the face of threats.
The
Gospel of the Resurrection Rising from the Rejected Stone
Standing
before an unfinished block of marble, one encounters a peculiar silence, as
though a figure still imprisoned within the stone were pressing its way toward
the light. The tension conveyed by Michelangelo’s unfinished sculptures bears a
striking resemblance to the scene in Acts 4. At the moment when God makes the
stone rejected by men into the cornerstone, the sentence of death is overturned
and becomes the beginning of life. Following Acts 4, the sermon of Pastor David
Jang, founder of Olivet University in the United States, leads the reader to
precisely this place—the place where the message of the resurrection gives
birth to the church and the boldness of the Holy Spirit builds a community.
Acts
4 does not unfold as a peaceful religious discussion. It opens in the midst of
fierce conflict. Peter and John had raised a man who had been unable to walk
from birth in the name of Jesus Christ, and the event became an undeniable
testimony in the heart of Jerusalem. Yet the central focus of the sermon is not
the astonishment produced by the miracle, but the gospel of the resurrection to
which the miracle pointed. The healing was a sign that the name of Jesus was
still living and active, while the resurrection was the deepest source of life
that moved the early church.
This
was also why the priests, the captain of the temple guard, and the Sadducees
arrested the apostles. What they could not tolerate was not merely the growth
of a new religious movement, but the teaching that “in Jesus there is the
resurrection of the dead.” Their conviction that there was no resurrection was
shaken, and the authority centered on the temple was challenged. Nevertheless,
the fact that the number of believing men grew to about five thousand shows
that the gospel spread more deeply and rapidly than oppression could contain.
The
central truth illuminated by Pastor David Jang’s sermon is unmistakable. The
church was not founded on the approval of the world or on religious
respectability. It was founded on the name of Jesus Christ, whom human beings
crucified but whom God raised from the dead. The confession that “there is no
other name by which we must be saved” is not an abstract slogan. It points to
the one name of life that humanity can hold on to in the face of death. The
declaration that the rejected stone has become the cornerstone offers a
profound theological insight: God establishes a new order of salvation that
surpasses human judgment.
From
this perspective, the formation of the early church was not merely the birth of
another group. It marked the beginning of an entirely different order. People
rejected Jesus as though He were a failure, but God placed His name at the
center of salvation. Therefore, what the church first embraced was neither a
collection of ethical teachings nor the power of an organization. The church
was rooted in faith that the risen Lord was still living and working, and in
the gospel that the problems of sin and death had been decisively transformed
through His name.
Faith
Becomes Clearer in the Face of Threats
The
council asked the apostles, “By what power or by what name have you done this?”
This was more than a legal interrogation. It was an attempt to erase the name
of Jesus once again from public life. Yet Peter and John did not appeal to
their own ability or qualifications. They simply spoke the name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth, whom the people had crucified but whom God had raised from the
dead.
For
the church today, this scene becomes a piercing mirror when read prayerfully.
When religion becomes entangled with power, it can obstruct the way of life
even while claiming to defend the truth. The movement of the sermon does not
overlook the fact that responsibility for the cross of Jesus involved not only
secular power but also religious authority. Repentance, therefore, is not
merely a message directed toward the world. It is also the act of bringing
before God the fear and desire for self-preservation hidden within the church.
The
confession of Peter and John is bold, but it is not harsh. Their words, “We
cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard,” express not the
arrogance of those seeking to win an argument, but the honesty of eyewitnesses.
Faith is not an artificially manufactured certainty. It is the obedience of a
heart that can no longer remain silent before the reality of the resurrection.
The resurrection faith emphasized by Pastor David Jang becomes the lifeblood of
the church at precisely this point. Diluting the gospel may temporarily reduce
conflict, but it causes the church to lose its roots.
The
early church was not courageous because it faced no opposition. On the
contrary, its faith became clearer precisely because interrogation, threats,
and the possibility of imprisonment were so real. The gospel is not an idea
that can be proclaimed only in safe environments. It can be spoken even in the
face of danger because it bears the name of the One who conquered death. The
sermon leads us to understand this boldness not as reckless courage, but as the
obedience that naturally flows from those who truly believe in the
resurrection.
In
the Trembling of the Holy Spirit, Love Becomes a Community
After
being released, the apostles did not retreat into hiding. They returned to the
community that was praying together. After reporting what the chief priests and
elders had said, they raised their voices to God with one heart. Their prayer
began by confessing God as the One who made “the heavens and the earth and the
sea, and everything in them.” The threat was real, but it did not possess the
final authority.
Using
the language of Psalm 2, the early church confessed that even the rage of the
nations and the plotting of rulers remained under the hand of God. This was not
an optimism that denied reality. Rather, because they knew that the hostility
directed toward Jesus had already been interpreted within the Word of God, they
saw God’s sovereignty as greater than their fear. Hope does not arise only
after danger has disappeared. It becomes even more steadfast through faith that
God’s will is deeper and more powerful than every threat.
The
early church did not simply pray for suffering to be removed. While asking God
to take notice of the threats against them, they also prayed that His servants
would proclaim His Word with boldness. Their request that God stretch out His
hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of Jesus expressed
their determination not to abandon the way of the gospel. When the place where
they had gathered was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, the
scene revealed that the church is moved not by the pressure of fear but by the
presence of God.
The
work of the Holy Spirit did not end with bold speech. In the latter part of
Acts 4, believers shared their possessions, distributed resources to those in
need, and gave concrete form to love through prayer and praise. Resurrection
faith grows faint when it remains only a doctrinal statement, but it becomes
unmistakable when it takes the form of a life that cares for the needs of
others. Grace must be shared as surely as it is proclaimed, and the gospel must
be embodied as surely as it is spoken.
The
early church, therefore, appears not simply as a religious group, but as a
community in which the resurrection became a tangible reality. Being filled
with the Holy Spirit was not confined to personal emotion. It was expressed
through boldness in proclaiming the Word, a way of life ordered by love, and
the habitual practice of sharing. The sign that a church is alive is not an
impressive outward appearance. It is found in praying in the name of Jesus,
strengthening the weak, and treating the life of God as more real than the
fears of the world.
Quiet
Repentance and Hope That Awaken the Church Today
Acts
4 is not merely an ancient heroic account. It is a mirror of the Word that
reflects the face of the church today. The world may still be uncomfortable
with the uniqueness of Jesus and the reality of His resurrection, while
temptations involving authority, reputation, and possessions may also find
their way into the church. This is why the sermon extends its vision to the
account of Ananias and Sapphira in the following chapter. The church is
threatened not only by persecution from outside, but also by falsehood and
greed within the community.
The
question the church must ask again today is not how powerful its institutions
have become, but whether resurrection faith is alive as a genuine power. When
the church pushes the name of Jesus away from the center, even its many
activities make it little different from the organizations of the world. When
the gospel of the resurrection remains alive at its center, however, even a
gathering of weak and ordinary people can become an open testimony to the
world, carried by the wind of the Holy Spirit. The resonance of Pastor David
Jang’s message for believers today lies in this recovery of the church’s
essential foundation.
The
resurrection is the root of the church, the Holy Spirit is the life of the
church, and the gospel is the mission of the church. This single sentence
sounds like the central axis holding together the movement of Acts 4. When the
church loses this confession, it increasingly resembles the organizations of
the world. When it recovers this confession, even a fragile community becomes
bold again. The depth of faith is revealed not after every threat has
disappeared, but in what we hold on to and in whose name we stand while threats
remain.
There
are small councils in our daily lives as well. We encounter social pressures
that seek to confine the name of Jesus to the realm of private comfort, habits
that calculate personal safety before obedience to the gospel, and hearts that
place appearances above love. Yet those who believe the message of the
resurrection look for the cornerstone God is establishing even in places that
seem as rejected and useless as a discarded stone.
What
fear is causing me to remain silent today? What grace must I hold on to again
so that I may love with courage?
David Jang Sermon Video:
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