This is yet another summary passage with the same themes: unity, power, mission. But it is different: although Luke has actually mentioned the Church (at last! Verse 11) this time the focus is not so much on the inner life of the community: it is, rather, on the outward flow from the community in mission: its impact on society, in the power of the Spirit. This wee summary is much more about Miracles and Mission, because the Chruch was experiencing a season of heightened awareness of the power of God.
1. Miracle and mission go together . v. 12... Miracles: The NIV is wrong to say “They healed”. What the Greek says is more like "Many signs and wonders were done by “the hands of the Apostles.” Teh passive verb ("wre done") is ofetnt in teh Bible a way of pointing to God without mentining his name. That suggests the Apostles were the waiters, their hands used to bring healing but that the source of the healing was beyond them, in God! This was God at work in Jesus' Name. It was done “among the people (i.e. of the city not just the Church!) and they (Luke means the “believers”) were all not just physically together, but “of one passion” in Solomon's porch. The emphasis isn't on the Apostles: it is on the fact of a community who “were of one passion”, where God was at work and people got healed, and saved.
They were among the people (v 12); they were highly regarded by the people (v. 13b) and many believed both men and women -- so gender prejudice is being broken down. (v 14) Miracles enable mission. And that in turn releases more miracles: (v 15) This is “healing on the Streets”! People started dragging their ill and disabled relatives out onto the streets so Peter's shadow would fall on them! Luke doesn't suggest that Peter or anyone else encouraged folks to do that. It just happened. That's how big the rumour grew, about the miracles God was doing through his Church! And this ministry touched all classes of people. The rich had wooden beds – or couches; the poor had mats.
And as a result, (v 16) crowds from outside Jerusalem began to gather. God is using the miraculous to push out the boundaries. The Church's Commission was to go to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. Here God is giving a little push, and Luke, careful historian that he is, doesn't fail to notice that here is an early hint of the Good news impacting “Judea”. Miracles enable mission. And that in turn releases more miracles – which results in a mission advance. Men and women; rich and poor, Jerusalem and Judea.
2. The Church is a Miracle Mission community. When I started preparing for this, I thought we might have a break from talking about “Church” this week to talk about “Miracles and Mission” instead: but it seems that God's word won't let us do that. Talk about Miracles, and you're talking about an activity of the Spirit through his people. Talk about mission, and you're talking about an activity of the Spirit in his people. Luke is now clearly talking about Church (v11) and has already emphasised the unity thing. But there are other important truths about the Church here.
v. 13f nobody else (of the rest i.e. unbelievers) dared join (i.e. stick themselves to, or keep company with) them. This was not a group swollen by hangers-on. Nobody dared be a “hanger-on”. For a start, there was God to consider. Look what happened to Ananias and Sapphira! This wasn't definitely the sort of group of people with some sort of shared beliefs, that you could “experiment” with. God was present in this group. But there were people who were on teh journey to faith and who thoguth highly of the disciples.
There will be some folks who “don't dare join.” For some people, their journey is taking time. They are watching, listening; they hold Christians in high regard. But in terms of “joining” - well they are not there yet. That is nothing new. We need to work lovingly, patiently, faithfully, consistently with those who are not sure about trusting Jesus.
But more and more believed and were added. These didn't “join”; they “were placed”. (Passive verb again!) God did it. People believed in the Lord, and found themselves in a new relationship with him and with his people. If you have a living faith, you are committed to Jesus, and you just know that this is “home” spiritually, then I would suggest that God has already “added” you and I would encourage you to respond to that – to agree with God – by entering into the formal commitment to one another that we call “church membership”. Mission does result in the Miracle of the Church being built.
So the Church is a Miracle Mission community. Talk about Church, and you're talking about the results of miracle and mission, the Spirit making this new community. : the Church is the agent and result of mission. The church carries the seed of mission. The church is the fruit of mission. So as the Church did “church stuff” (Mission!) the Church grew. 
3. Miracles and Mission and our world.... v. 17-20 Miracles did not mean a problem-free life! Far from it! In the midst of this “revival” time, when there is so much power at work, so much effective mission. and real growth, the high priest and other Sadducees were filled with jealousy. The Apostles (all of them this time!) were thrown in prison. But this time, they didn't even spend a night in the cells because an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. Miracles, the power of the Spirit, are not given to shield the Community from the kind of problems we might encounter in mission. Rather, they are there for us when we are going through the challenges. Talk about miracles and seasons of revival, and an awful lot of silliness can emerge. Power isn't about prosperity, privilege, prestige, or becoming the perfect Church. It's about mission: effective mission in a hostile environment. So, finally, it seems revival is seasonal. God is always with us. The Church is always supernatural, But it appears that there are seasons of greater manifestation even in the New Testament, and this was such a time. Like the farmers, we need all the seasons for healthy and fruitful living. In a hostile world, we need seasons of revival to come. And if we want a season of outpouring, we will only get it as we do what the early Church did: this season was a direct answer to the prayers in 4. 30“Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus”
© Gilmour Lilly August 2013
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