Acts 4:1-22
Relax, Read and Reflect
Prayer- Lord, Open our hearts and open our minds and help us learn. Go-Fight-Win. AmenActs 4:1-22 (New International Version)
Acts 4
Peter and John Before the Sanhedrin
8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people! 9If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, 10then know this, you and all the people of Israel: 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. 11He is
" 'the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the capstone.' 12Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
13When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. 15So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 16"What are we going to do with these men?" they asked. "Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it. 17But 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."
18Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. 20For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."
21After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. 22For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.
They arrested Peter and John, (but curiously let the former lame man go,) to try and intimidate them. Instead of cowering, the apostles grew bolder. When asked by what power they healed the man Peter quoted scripture. He also tied Jesus to Abraham and Issac, giving their work validity in the eyes of the people. Peter and John were considered uneducated by the priests, (actually a better term would be "ignorant",) but they still understood prophesy and scripture. That could be a problem.
The rulers would release the two apostles, under the condition that they stopped spreading the news about Jesus. Peter and John were not interested in conditions, and basically left anyway. Bold.
Questions:
1. Why were Peter and John arrested?
2. What defense did they give for the day before?
3. Did this arrest and questioning of Peter and John go the way the leaders of the temple thought it would go? Why not?
Prayer- Lord, help us be bold. Help us spread the good news of Your Son, Jesus. Give us strength and wisdom to be modern apostles. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.
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