Monday, February 22, 2010

Reflections on Acts 4


    Acts 04 (Contemporary English Version)

  1. The apostles were still talking to the people, when some priests, the captain of the temple guard, and some Sadducees arrived.
  2. These men were angry because the apostles were teaching the people that the dead would be raised from death, just as Jesus had been raised from death.
  3. It was already late in the afternoon, and they arrested Peter and John and put them in jail for the night.
  4. But a lot of people who had heard the message believed it. So by now there were about five thousand followers of the Lord.
  5. The next morning the leaders, the elders, and the teachers of the Law of Moses met in Jerusalem.
  6. The high priest Annas was there, as well as Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and other members of the high priest's family.
  7. They brought in Peter and John and made them stand in the middle while they questioned them. They asked, "By what power and in whose name have you done this?"
  8. Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and told the nation's leaders and the elders:
  9. You are questioning us today about a kind deed in which a crippled man was healed.
  10. But there is something we must tell you and everyone else in Israel. This man is standing here completely well because of the power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth. You put Jesus to death on a cross, but God raised him to life.
  11. He is the stone that you builders thought was worthless, and now he is the most important stone of all.
  12. Only Jesus has the power to save! His name is the only one in all the world that can save anyone.
  13. The officials were amazed to see how brave Peter and John were, and they knew that these two apostles were only ordinary men and not well educated. The officials were certain that these men had been with Jesus.
  14. But they could not deny what had happened. The man who had been healed was standing there with the apostles.
  15. The officials commanded them to leave the council room. Then the officials said to each other,
  16. "What can we do with these men? Everyone in Jerusalem knows about this miracle, and we cannot say it didn't happen.
  17. But to keep this thing from spreading, we will warn them never again to speak to anyone about the name of Jesus."
  18. So they called the two apostles back in and told them that they must never, for any reason, teach anything about the name of Jesus.
  19. Peter and John answered, "Do you think God wants us to obey you or to obey him?
  20. We cannot keep quiet about what we have seen and heard."
  21. The officials could not find any reason to punish Peter and John. So they threatened them and let them go. The man who was healed by this miracle was more than forty years old, and everyone was praising God for what had happened.
  22. (SEE 4:21)
  23. As soon as Peter and John had been set free, they went back and told the others everything that the chief priests and the leaders had said to them.
  24. When the rest of the Lord's followers heard this, they prayed together and said: Master, you created heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them.
  25. And by the Holy Spirit you spoke to our ancestor David. He was your servant, and you told him to say: "Why are all the Gentiles so furious? Why do people make foolish plans?
  26. The kings of earth prepare for war, and the rulers join together against the Lord and his Messiah."
  27. Here in Jerusalem, Herod and Pontius Pilate got together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel. Then they turned against your holy Servant Jesus, your chosen Messiah.
  28. They did what you in your power and wisdom had already decided would happen.
  29. Lord, listen to their threats! We are your servants. So make us brave enough to speak your message.
  30. Show your mighty power, as we heal people and work miracles and wonders in the name of your holy Servant Jesus.
  31. After they had prayed, the meeting place shook. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and bravely spoke God's message.
  32. The group of followers all felt the same way about everything. None of them claimed that their possessions were their own, and they shared everything they had with each other.
  33. In a powerful way the apostles told everyone that the Lord Jesus was now alive. God greatly blessed his followers,
  34. and no one went in need of anything. Everyone who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the money
  35. to the apostles. Then they would give the money to anyone who needed it.
  36. Joseph was one of the followers who had sold a piece of property and brought the money to the apostles. He was a Levite from Cyprus, and the apostles called him Barnabas, which means "one who encourages others."
  37. (SEE 4:36)


The healing of the lame man at the temple complex and the gathering of a huge crowd of over 5,000 was bound to catch the attention of the temple authorities. Peter and John were arrested and placed in jail overnight. On the next day they found themselves standing before the highest leaders of the land. This was no small threat these two fishermen posed. After all, the movement that these leaders had supposedly stopped with the death of its leader, Jesus, was now facing them once again in even greater force. But this movement was only a threat to them if they continued to oppose it. Each of these occasions on which they arrested Jesus' followers was an occasion for them to change their chosen course. The evidence was before them of the authenticity of this movement. Their reasons to oppose the movement was not lack of evidence but a desire to protect their positions and their way of life. What they failed to recognize is that to choose our own way of life in opposition to God offers absolutely no security, nor does it assure our way of life.

With the healed man standing before them and the approval of this movement from the 5,000 new believers still ringing in their ears from the day before, what choice did these leaders have but to release Peter and John? This they did, but in an attempt to keep the upper hand, they threatened them "against speaking to anyone in this name again." Peter was not intimidated by this threat and in reply said to them, "Whether it's right in the sight of God for us to listen to you rather than to God, you decide; for we are unable to stop speaking about what we have seen and heard."

Upon their release, Peter and John returned to the fellowship of believers and reported what had happened. Then they all prayed together, recognizing God as the Creator of the heavens and earth and all that is in them. This is foundational for any believer. By joining forces with the Creator of the universe we are aligning ourselves with the One who is the giver of life and whose cause will never fail. They also recognized in this prayer that the movement they had joined was God's plan and had been "predestined to take place." Nothing would stop it. Therefore they were choosing to join God in His unstoppable plan rather than to oppose it. In view of this choice to join in God's plan, they asked that God would, "grant that Your slaves may speak Your message with complete boldness." That God granted this request was made evident in the next instant when "the place where they were assembled was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak God's message with boldness."

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