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Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends.
Today begins a new month and I wonder what our world will be like in 30 days?
What’s the greatest “power demonstration” you’ve ever seen or can imagine? Perhaps a tsunami, or an out of control forest fire or a tornado? Or maybe military power, or political power, or media power?
In these days we’re with the close friends of Jesus immediately following one of the most significant power demonstrations in history… Pentecost! A few days later Peter and John were going to the Temple in Jerusalem for mid-afternoon prayer and a crippled beggar asked for a handout. Instead Peter extended his hand and said “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give to you, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.” (Acts 3:6)
Dr. Luke, a Gentile physician, the author of the book of Acts, records what happened next: “Taking him by the right hand, Peter helped him up and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk…” Now that, my friends, is a power like none of us has probably ever witnessed, right?
Luke tells us a crowd gathered very quickly and they were astonished, but confused. What they saw with their eyes, they could not understand with their minds, nor explain with their mouths! Peter explained: “Why do you stare at us, as if by our own power or godliness we made this man walk?.. By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through Him that has given complete healing to this man, as you can all see.” (Acts 3:12,16)
Now I ask you my friends, what exactly did Peter mean by what he said? Is there actually power in the name “Jesus Christ”? What power and how is it unleashed? Also, is there actually power in the act of faith in the name of Jesus, and if so how is that unleashed? Those are fair questions, aren’t they?
Let’s stay close to Peter and John and see if what happens next can answer these and other important questions. Luke tells us in Acts 4:1-3 that some Jewish religious leaders of the group called the “Sadducees” approached Peter and John and were so disturbed by what they were saying and doing that they grabbed them and dragged them to the local jail and locked them up for the night! How could that be?
If you and I lived in Jerusalem at this time in history there were three groups of people who had the power to actually take people off the street and drag them off to jail. First, of course, were the Roman soldiers who were everywhere and held a very tight control on keeping civil peace in the streets of Jerusalem. It was no easy task then, just as it isn’t today. Then there were two groups of Jewish religious leaders who had their own religious rules and either the “Pharisees” or “Sadducees” actually had the power to grab someone on the street and drag them off to jail for breaking one of the religious laws. In our day we’ve heard of “Sharia Law” in Muslim countries. This would be similar.
So what had Peter and John done that deserved spending the night in jail? Peter had publicly said to the people who were amazed by the healing miracle of the cripple, “You killed the author of life but God raised Him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.” (Acts 3:15) The Sadducees absolutely rejected any notion of resurrection from the dead. Further they also rejected that Jesus was the Son of God. There was freedom of speech in those days, as long as what you said did not contradict religious laws or agitate the people to a civil disturbance. So evidently these Sadducees thought Peter had crossed the line and thus Peter and John were checked into the local jail for the night!
Please don’t miss Dr. Luke’s statement in Acts 4:4 “But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about 5000.” Wow…so in a few days, this Jesus movement has grown from the 11 disciples and a few women friends of Jesus, to 120 spending 10 days together after Jesus’ ascension, to over 3000 people after the Pentecost miracle and Peter’s message, and now after this healing of the cripple and Peter’s speech, it’s over 5000 men, plus women and perhaps children. That my friends, is what’s called a “Great Awakening”… a large number of people trusting Jesus Christ to be their Savior in a very short window of time, in a specific city or region. And the power of the Holy Spirit is clearly evident in their transformed lives! We can assume Jerusalem was being shaken to its foundation. This is an unexplainable and unprecedented spiritual power sweeping through the region!
Luke tells us the next day the religious leaders in Jerusalem gathered and among them are named those who were in charge when Jesus was arrested, tried, beaten and sent to be crucified about 2 months before this. “They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: ‘By what power or what name did you do this?” There it is… do you see the question does not deny the miracle of the healing of the cripple, the question seeks to understand the power! Peter’s response is very significant. Look closely: “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them…’It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.” (Acts 4:8-10)
We know the Holy Spirit anointed Peter and the others when fire came upon them and they began to speak in languages they did not know, at Pentecost. And then the Holy Spirit emboldened Peter and led him to make a remarkable speech which resulted in 3000 people trusting Jesus! Then the Holy Spirit empowered Peter to invite a cripple man to trust in Jesus and stand up… healed. And now, Peter once again emboldened by the Holy Spirit, is going nose to nose with the most powerful religious leaders in Israel, the very men who had supervised the trials, beatings and even crucifixion of Jesus! This my friends is Holy Spirit power…the same Holy Spirit who lives in you and me if you have fully trusted Jesus to be your Savior!
Can you imagine the tension in the room? The night of Jesus’ arrest, trials, beatings and sentencing to crucifixion was a haunting memory for them. My guess is none of them had slept much any night since. Jesus’ trial had likely taken place in the very room where this group was gathered now. But even more terrifying was the report from the guards they’d placed at the tomb, of an earthquake early in the morning of the third day, and an angel, and that angel rolled away the stone but the tomb was empty. These leaders had paid those guards hush money and told them to tell everyone who asked that the disciples had come in the night and stolen Jesus’ body while they had fallen asleep. (Matt. 28:11-15) Now Peter, who these leaders hated and were also trying to find a way to silence, was boldly challenging them with an undeniable miracle. Please notice verse 14 “Since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say.”
Peter then said something that you might just overlook, but it is extremely significant, yet only a few words. Peter said: “He (Jesus) is the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.” (Acts 4:11) Peter was quoting one little verse from Psalm 118, a very significant and powerful Psalm. Every man in the room would know that Psalm by heart, for they were all Jewish leaders. Here are some other verses from that Psalm: “The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. I was pushed back and about to fall, but the LORD helped me. The LORD is my strength and my song, He has become my salvation.
O LORD save us, O LORD grant us success. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD. The LORD is God, and He has made His light shine upon us. With boughs in hand, join the festal procession up to the horns of the altar…” (Psalm 118)
Do you recognize those last lines as descriptive of Palm Sunday? Oh my friends this would have been like a dagger in their hearts! For they knew they had rejected this Jesus who claimed God had sent Him. And if Jesus’ resurrection is true, He really has become the capstone. As you know a ‘capstone’ is the final step in completing a major project.
Peter was far from finished. Like a sledgehammer, Peter made one more powerful proclamation: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven, given to men, by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) It was as though a bomb went off in the room. Luke describes this historic moment: “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished, and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” Oh my! May I ask, could the same be said of you and me, my friends? Is it obvious that you and I have been with Jesus?
But since these leaders could not deny what they saw,… a former cripple standing right before them, “…there was nothing they could say, so they ordered Peter and John to be taken out from the Sanhedrin and then they conferred together. ‘What are we going to do with these men? Everyone knows they have done an outstanding miracle and we cannot deny it. But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name.” (Acts 4:14-17)
I wonder how long it took them to reach this conclusion and what turmoil was in the room as they debated what they faced. Finally Luke writes: “So they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied: ‘Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
Jesus had promised His friends that He would send them the Holy Spirit of God and when He came upon them in God’s power, they would be Jesus’ eye witnesses taking the story of Jesus to the world, starting here in Jerusalem. (Acts 1:4-8) Jesus had also warned them that they would face severe opposition. (John 15:18-16:4) Do you see the power of the Holy Spirit of God in Peter and John my friends, as they are surrounded by 72 angry, powerful, religious leaders demanding their silence?
Look at what Luke records happened in this historic moment: “After further threats the religious leaders let Peter and John go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.” (Acts 4:21,22)
Now let’s just stop right here and freeze this moment in time. I urge you to spend some extended time today looking at this experience from all sides… and we’re going to come and re-visit it tomorrow!
Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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