God Speaks
While Peter and John were speaking to the people, they were confronted by the priests, the captain of the Temple guard, and some of the Sadducees. 2 These leaders were very disturbed that Peter and John were teaching the people that through Jesus there is a resurrection of the dead. 3 They arrested them and, since it was already evening, put them in jail until morning. 4 But many of the people who heard their message believed it, so the number of men who believed now totaled about 5,000.
5 The next day the council of all the rulers and elders and teachers of religious law met in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest was there, along with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and other relatives of the high priest. 7 They brought in the two disciples and demanded, “By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?”
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of our people, 9 are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed? 10 Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. 11 For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says,
‘The stone that you builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.’
12 There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”
13 The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. 14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing right there among them, there was nothing the council could say. 15 So they ordered Peter and John out of the council chamber and conferred among themselves.
16 “What should we do with these men?” they asked each other. “We can’t deny that they have performed a miraculous sign, and everybody in Jerusalem knows about it. 17 But to keep them from spreading their propaganda any further, we must warn them not to speak to anyone in Jesus’ name again.” 18 So they called the apostles back in and commanded them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus.
19 But Peter and John replied, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? 20 We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.”
21 The council then threatened them further, but they finally let them go because they didn’t know how to punish them without starting a riot. For everyone was praising God 22 for this miraculous sign—the healing of a man who had been lame for more than forty years.
23 As soon as they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said. 24 When they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God: “O Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them— 25 you spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant, saying,
‘Why were the nations so angry?
Why did they waste their time with futile plans?
26 The kings of the earth prepared for battle;
the rulers gathered together
against the Lord
and against his Messiah.’
27 “In fact, this has happened here in this very city! For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you anointed. 28 But everything they did was determined beforehand according to your will. 29 And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. 30 Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
31 After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.
32 All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. 33 The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all. 34 There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them 35 and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need.
36 For instance, there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement”). He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus. 37 He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles.
Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: In Acts chapter 4, Peter and John were brought before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high court, where they were repeatedly asked what name (power or authority) gave them the ability to heal the crippled man. Peter, in the power of the Holy Spirit, said that it was in the name of Jesus of Nazareth whom this council had turned over to the Romans for crucifixion. Even the Jewish leaders recognized that this boldness and confidence didn’t come from Peter and John. They were just ordinary, untrained, uneducated men. The miracle itself could not be denied, but the Council had to keep this news from spreading. The Council forbade the disciples from speaking in Jesus’s name or using Him as their authority. Peter and John responded that they could not keep from telling what they had seen and heard regardless of what the chief priests and elders decided. When they told the Church what had happened, the people used the scriptures to praise God and recited the problem back to God in prayer. They saw God’s purpose in Jesus’s death and Resurrection. They asked for boldness and courage to keep on preaching, and healing and seeing miracles in Jesus’s name. When the prayer was finished, The Holy Spirit filled the room and them, so that they could do just that. They went out and did it. The resulting unity caused them to work together to provide for and protect each other to the point that they shared whatever they had with each other. Barnabas was an example of this unforced, unselfish generosity.
Prayer: Dear Lord God, thank You for making us Your people. May we respond appropriately to police and community (religious or political) leaders who come to investigate what we are doing in Your name. May our focus be on the Resurrected Jesus Christ so that a great number of people will hear and believe. Don’t let us be afraid of being arrested for doing right. Whenever we stand before officials, may we be bold for Christ. May we proclaim that there is no one else who can save us, “for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” [Acts 4:12 ESV]. Make us so focused on You that we can’t help but speak of what we have seen and heard. May believers and unbelievers alike do whatever Your hand and Your plan has predestined to take place. “And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant Your servants to continue to speak Your word with all boldness, while You stretch out Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.” [Acts 4:29-30 ESV] May all those who believe be of one heart and soul, boldly testifying of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and Your great grace upon us all. With Barnabas as our example, may we willingly share with each other so that there is no one in need among us. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will politely, but firmly, stand up for the truth, especially as it concerns Jesus Christ and what was accomplished through His death, resurrection, and current high priestly intercession.
- I will proclaim, to someone who doesn’t yet know Christ as their Savior and Lord, that there is no one else who can save us, “for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” [Acts 4:12 ESV].
- I will work at being so focused on Jesus that I can’t help but speak of what I have seen and heard.
- I will fervently pray for the LORD to protect and defend His people who are under attack for their faith in Him.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.