“Acts 4: Peter, John and the Sanhedrin”

Wednesday, January 04, 2017

Acts chapter 4 finds the apostles in trouble for their miracle in chapter 3.  All of them are taken into custody.

Notice, from verse 4, that the church continues to grow, in spite of the opposition of the Jews. The number of men has grown to about 5000. (I always think it is amusing when some people today say that a church of 200-250 is just “too big.”)

When the Jews ask them “by what power” they had healed the lame man, Peter, once again the spokesman, makes it clear that this miracle was performed in the name of (by the authority of) Jesus Christ. He continues by identifying Jesus as the rejected cornerstone of Old Testament prophecy. And he makes the powerful statement that the name of Jesus is the only name in which anyone will be saved.

Four things stand out in the remainder of chapter 4.

1.  What empowered the apostles and filled them with courage was the time “they had been with Jesus” (verse 13).  This changed them from “uneducated and untrained men” (they were uneducated, but Jesus had trained them) into courageous and unstoppable defenders of truth. Only if we spend much time with Jesus will we have such courage today.

2.  The enemies could not deny the reality of their miracle (verse 16).  Everyone knew this man to have been lame for his entire life. This points up an important difference between Bible miracles and the so-called miracles of faith healing imposters today.

3.  Their response to persecution was group prayer (verses 24-31). This emphasizes their dependence on God and teaches us the same lesson. Jesus said, “…without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

4.  The early Christians took care of each other (verses 32-37). Even when it required selling of possessions, they shared what they had with their fellow disciples. They were motivated by love and devotion for one another. We should be also.

--Roger Hillis

Share