The Shadow of God's Power Text: Acts 5:12-16
Introduction: The Aftermath of Holy Fear
We come to our text on the heels of one of the most sobering events in the life of the early church. Ananias and Sapphira have just been struck dead for lying to the Holy Spirit. Luke tells us that because of this, "great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things" (Acts 5:11). Now, our modern sensibilities recoil at this. We want a church that is cozy, safe, and above all, seeker-sensitive. We want growth, and we think the way to get it is to lower the bar, remove all the sharp edges, and make sure nobody feels uncomfortable. We want to be winsome to the max. But God has a very different church growth program.
What we see in our passage today is the direct result of this holy fear. And what is the result? Is the church scattered? Do potential converts run for the hills? Does the whole enterprise grind to a halt? Quite the opposite. The immediate aftermath of a terrifying divine judgment is explosive growth, profound respect from the community, and undeniable, raw power. This is a crucial lesson for the modern American church, which too often tries to build the kingdom with marketing techniques and public relations strategies instead of with purity and power.
The world is not looking for a church that is just like the world, only with better potlucks. The world, whether it knows it or not, is looking for a church that is saturated with the presence of the living God. And where the presence of the living God is, there will be both great grace and great fear. This passage shows us what happens when the church takes God's holiness seriously. The result is not a retreat into a holy huddle, but a powerful, public, and potent witness that cannot be ignored.
The Text
Now at the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were happening among the people, and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Portico. But none of the rest dared to associate with them; however, the people were holding them in high esteem. And more than ever believers in the Lord were added to their number, multitudes of men and women, to such an extent that they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, so that when Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on any one of them. Also the multitude from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together, bringing people who were sick or afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all being healed.
(Acts 5:12-16 LSB)
Public Power and Unity (v. 12)
We begin with the public display of God's power through His appointed leaders.
"Now at the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were happening among the people, and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Portico." (Acts 5:12)
Notice the instruments: "at the hands of the apostles." These signs and wonders were authenticating the message and the authority of the apostles. God was putting His divine stamp on their ministry, showing everyone that these men spoke for Him. This was not random; it was God establishing the foundation of the Church on the apostolic testimony to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. These miracles, like the healing of the lame man at the Beautiful Gate, were undeniable and public.
And where did this happen? Not in a private upper room, but "in Solomon's Portico." This was a large, colonnaded porch that ran along the eastern side of the Temple complex. It was a highly visible, public space. The church was not hiding. They were right there, in the heart of Jewish religious life, proclaiming that the man the establishment had crucified was, in fact, Lord and Christ. This was bold, confrontational, and utterly fearless. Their unity is also highlighted: they were "all with one accord." This is the same phrase used at Pentecost. Their doctrinal unity and spiritual fellowship were the necessary context for the display of God's power. A divided church is a powerless church.
A Holy Separation (v. 13)
The reaction of the public to this potent display of God's presence was twofold, and it is a paradox that we must grasp.
"But none of the rest dared to associate with them; however, the people were holding them in high esteem." (Acts 5:13)
Here is the church growth strategy that no consultant would ever recommend. The church was so spiritually radioactive, so palpably holy, that casual observers were afraid to get too close. "None of the rest dared to associate with them." The word for "dared" implies a fear of joining. After what happened to Ananias and Sapphira, people understood that this was not a club to be trifled with. To join this community meant you were stepping into the manifest presence of a God who does not grade on a curve and who takes holiness seriously. This fear was a divine gift. It was a filter, a spiritual fence that kept out the hypocrites, the half-hearted, and those who just wanted to join a popular new movement.
But this fear did not breed contempt. On the contrary, "the people were holding them in high esteem." The general populace magnified them, respected them, and honored them. They saw something authentic, powerful, and real. They were feared and respected simultaneously. The world does not respect a church that is desperate for its approval. It respects a church that fears God more than it fears men. This holy fear created a clear line of demarcation between the church and the world, and it was this very separation that made the church so attractive.
Paradoxical Growth (v. 14)
This brings us to the great paradox. The very thing that kept some people away was the very thing that drew multitudes in.
"And more than ever believers in the Lord were added to their number, multitudes of men and women..." (Acts 5:14)
This is astonishing. A holy fear falls on the city, casual association is discouraged, and the result is that "more than ever" believers were added. And not just a few, but "multitudes." Luke is very clear that numerical growth is a sign of God's blessing. But it is a particular kind of growth. It is growth that comes as a result of God's manifest presence, not as a result of its absence. The people who were joining were not the ones who were afraid to get too close; they were the ones who were drawn by the fire. They were the ones who saw the holiness and power and said, "That is what I need. I need the true and living God."
This demolishes the seeker-sensitive argument that you have to lower the standards to grow the church. The apostolic pattern is the exact opposite. You raise the standard of holiness, and God brings the growth. God adds to a church that is faithful, not to a church that is compromised. And notice, it was "multitudes of men and women." This was a robust, family-building movement from the very beginning.
Overflowing Power (v. 15-16)
The power of God at work in the church was so overwhelming that it began to spill out into the streets in extraordinary ways.
"...to such an extent that they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, so that when Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on any one of them. Also the multitude from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together, bringing people who were sick or afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all being healed." (Acts 5:15-16)
This is a remarkable scene. The demand for healing was so great that the apostles couldn't get to everyone individually. So the people, in a display of desperate faith, lined the streets with their sick, hoping that even Peter's shadow might pass over them. Now, we must not see this as a magical formula. There is no power in a shadow. The power is in God, who was pleased to honor this expression of faith. It demonstrates the sheer super-abundance of healing power that was flowing from Christ through His apostle. God's grace was so thick in the air that it was spilling over the edges. It was an atmosphere of miracles.
And the results were comprehensive. People came not just from Jerusalem, but from all the surrounding towns. They brought the sick and those tormented by demons. And the text gives us this stunning, absolute summary: "and they were all being healed." Every last one. This was not a hit-or-miss affair. This was a total rout of sickness and demonic power. It was a preview of the New Jerusalem, a demonstration that the kingdom of God had arrived in power, and that in the presence of Jesus Christ, sickness and demons have no place to stand.
Conclusion: The Church the World Needs
So what is the takeaway for us? This passage is a standing rebuke to our timid, market-driven, and power-starved Christianity. We have been told a lie. The lie is that if we want to reach the world, we must become like the world. If we want to attract crowds, we must entertain them. If we want to grow, we must lower the cost of discipleship to zero.
The book of Acts teaches the opposite. The path to true, lasting, and explosive growth is the path of purity, power, and the fear of God. When the church is more concerned with the holiness of the Holy Spirit than with the opinions of outsiders, God shows up. And when God shows up, two things happen. The pretenders are driven away, and the desperate are drawn in. The church becomes a place of both terror and grace, a place where sin is judged and the sick are healed.
This is the kind of church our world desperately needs. Not a church that panders to its whims, but a church that confronts it with the reality of the living God. We must pray for God to restore this holy fear to our midst. We must repent of our man-pleasing compromises and our worldly strategies. We must ask God to purify His church, even if it means He has to do some spring cleaning in our own hearts first. Because only a pure church can be a powerful church. And only a powerful church has anything of substance to offer a dying world.