The apostles were still talking to the people, when some priests, the captain of the temple guard, and some Sadducees arrived. 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. It was already late in the afternoon, and they arrested Peter and John and put them in jail for the night. But a lot of people who had heard the message believed it. So by now there were about five thousand followers of the Lord.
The next morning the leaders, the elders, and the teachers of the Law of Moses met in Jerusalem. The high priest Annas was there, as well as Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and other members of the high priest's family. 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?"
Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and told the nation's leaders and the elders:
You are questioning us today about a kind deed in which a crippled man was healed. 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. He is the stone that you builders thought was worthless, and now he is the most important stone of all. Only Jesus has the power to save! His name is the only one in all the world that can save anyone.
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. But they could not deny what had happened. The man who had been healed was standing there with the apostles.
The officials commanded them to leave the council room. Then the officials said to each other, "What can we do with these men? Everyone in Jerusalem knows about this miracle, and we cannot say it didn't happen. But to keep this thing from spreading, we will warn them never again to speak to anyone about the name of Jesus." 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.
Peter and John answered, "Do you think God wants us to obey you or to obey him? We cannot keep quiet about what we have seen and heard."
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.
Well, that didn't take long...Peter and John are in jail. The charge? Teaching people that the dead will rise.
In a brilliant line of questioning the Apostles are asked "By what power and in whose name have you done this?" It meant these religious leaders hadn't done a single bit of investigation. Remember what Peter had said to the man? "In the name of Jesus Christ from Nazareth, get up and start walking". Later, in the temple, Peter said "You see this man, and you know him. He put his faith in the name of Jesus and was made strong" .
I'm beginning to believe the leaders learned nothing from the trial of Jesus. Well, how would they? As far as they knew, they got their way. Although, they were getting nervous.
But..."Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit". No contest. We can anticipate his answer."We didn't do it...Jesus did it.
Ooops! The guy they just killed. Think anybody might notice? Probably, so they needed to stop them before the entire city found out. They prohibited the disciples from teaching about Jesus. As we might suspect, the Apostles said they couldn't do that.
We should always remember a couple things about following the Spirit...
1. People get mad..."These men were angry because the Apostles were teaching"
2. People fight back..."Never teach anything about the name of Jesus"
In spite of the opposition God accomplished the most important thing..."Everyone was praising God" It can be frightening when we have to make a choice. Peter understood what was at stake. "Do you think God wants us to obey you or to obey him?
It all makes me think...if my community is content with me maybe the Holy Spirit doesn't have enough of me to work with. That's a problem. It probably boils down to confusion about who I serve.
Live boldly out there today...
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