By: Dale Weckbacher
Acts 4:13-14
Now
when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were
uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had
been with Jesus. 14 But seeing the man who was
healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.
(ESV)
The first amendment of the U.S. Constitution
grants individuals freedom of speech and the right to peaceably assemble. The premise in protecting this right in the
Constitution is the promotion of debate over issues. Unfortunately, many have ignored the word
peaceably in this amendment and believe they have the right to gather in a
riotous manner and even commit or condone murder. This is not what the authors of the first
amendment intended and is destructive to any debate over issues. For the restoration of peace in our society
and finding solutions to the problems plaguing society, there must be a
restoration of peaceful debate.
The confrontation between Peter,
John, and the healed lame man in Acts
4:1-22 is peaceful with the possible exception of the arrest of Peter,
John, and the healed lame man. However,
the arrest is not violent and done so the religious leaders can question them
about the miracle that occurred in the Temple resulting in about five thousand
men coming to believe in Jesus. Peter
and John would have viewed this as an opportunity to share the Gospel of Jesus
Christ with these religious leaders. Peter
and John were,
1) Brave
(Acts
4:1-7) – The noise in the Temple at the hour of prayer, typically a quiet
time, has received the attention of the religious leaders, especially the
Sadducees since Peter spoke of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. Included in this group of religious leaders
is Annas and Caiaphas who were among those calling for the crucifixion of Jesus
(John
18:12-14; Matthew 26:57-68). For
Peter and John to stand up to these leaders would require bravery, especially
when Peter accused them of killing Jesus (Acts
3:14-15). As persecution of
Christians, even in countries with freedom of religion like the United States escalates,
Christians need to remain brave in declaring their faith.
2) Opportunistic
(Acts
4:9-12) – Similar to Peter taking the opportunity of the miracle of
speaking in tongues in Acts
2, Peter takes the opportunity of this miracle to lift up Jesus, the source
of the lame man’s healing (Acts
3:11-26). Not only did Peter and
John have an opportunity to share with those gathered for prayer at the Temple
but since this miracle occurred on the Temple grounds, it has received the
attention of the religious leaders at the Temple. The reaction of these leaders was to arrest
Peter, John, and the healed lame man but instead of viewing this arrest as
negative, they viewed it as an opportunity to bravely declare Jesus Christ to
these leaders. A world in chaos presents
many opportunities to share our peace and joy in Christ even in the middle of
chaos, the question we must ask ourselves is will we bravely declare the source
of our peace and joy, Jesus Christ or remain silent in fear.
3) Led
by the Holy Spirit (Acts
4:8) – The bravery of Peter was not natural for him for he is the one who
denied Christ three times (Luke
22:54-61; John 18:15-18; Mark 14:66-72; Matthew 26:69-75). However, two momentous events have occurred in
the life of Peter since his denial. He
has seen the risen Lord and received forgiveness and a calling to ministry (John
21:15-19). Peter has also received
the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, empowering leading him in his ministry (Acts
2:1-13; 4:8). It is the Holy Spirit
within Peter that provides the bravery to declare and not deny Christ and the
discernment to recognize the opportunity to share Christ even when
arrested. As believers, we must live
lives empowered and led by the Holy Spirit to have both the bravery and
discernment to declare Christ when the opportunity arises.
4) Determined
(Acts
4:13-22) – The religious leaders are perplexed for the proof that a miracle
had occurred was standing with Peter and John (Acts
4:14). The only thing the religious
leaders could do as warn Peter, John, and the healed lame man not to speak of
Jesus anymore. While we do not know
about the healed lame man, Peter and John did not heed the warning and
continued to share the Gospel and were even arrested for their faith (Acts
12:1-5; Revelation 1:9). Peter and
John were determined to carry out the mission of Jesus Christ by spreading the
Gospel and making disciples (Mark
16:15; Matthew 28:19-20). For the
Church today to become a transforming force in a community in chaos, believers
and leaders in the Church must have this same level of determination.
Believers in Christ living in
today's chaotic world must have the same level of boldness demonstrated by
Peter, John, and the healed lame man.
Believers must be brave and take advantage of opportunities to share
their faith. However, their bravery must
come from the empowerment and leadership of the Holy Spirit. Believers must also have a tenacious
determination to share Christ and make disciples from the empowerment of the
Holy Spirit within them. If you are
reading this and do not have the peace and joy of a relationship with Jesus
Christ as your savior, I encourage you to do so now by praying with me,
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans
3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans
6:23). I ask you to forgive me of my
sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1
John 1:9). I believe you died, spent
three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord
of my life.
Romans
10:9-10 encourages us to make our profession of faith public so I encourage
you to respond with a comment to this post that you have made a public
profession of faith, call a friend or family member who is a believer, or share
this post with others. I also encourage
you to become involved in a church teaching the Bible or a Bible Study to learn
more about Christ. May God bless
everyone reading this post.
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