What if?? Of courage and truth.

When the pressure is on,

when the heat gets turned up -

are you courageous?

Did you feel it?

There has been a shift,

and trouble is afoot for the apostles, particularly Peter and John.

A 40 year old man is walking for the first time in his life

and it causes a stir, gets Peter and John thrown into jail.

Why? Because Peter would not be silenced by intimidation, pressure or his own fear. That's right--the guy who denied Jesus when things got hot will not do it again.

Besides, Peter knows too much not to share. He has felt the power of the Holy Spirit in his life--first emboldening him with a life-changing gospel sermon when 3000 folks were saved in one day, and then speaking healing over the crippled man. And Peter? Well he gives all the credit to Jesus here in Acts 4. Folks are shocked and amazed by the miraculous event, so once again, Peter gives them the truth about Christ, and the number of believers grows to about 5,000.1

So, what happens next??

"The next day (after Peter and John are put in jail for the night), a meeting was called in Jerusalem. The rulers, religious leaders, religion scholars, Annas the Chief Priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander—everybody who was anybody was there. They stood Peter and John in the middle of the room and grilled them: “Who put you in charge here? What business do you have doing this?”

With that, Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, let loose: “Rulers and leaders of the people, if we have been brought to trial today for helping a sick man, put under investigation regarding this healing, I’ll be completely frank with you—we have nothing to hide. By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the One you killed on a cross, the One God raised from the dead, by means of his name this man stands before you healthy and whole. Jesus is ‘the stone you masons threw out, which is now the cornerstone.’ Salvation comes no other way; no other name has been or will be given to us by which we can be saved, only this one.”

They couldn’t take their eyes off them—Peter and John standing there so confident, so sure of themselves! Their fascination deepened when they realized these two were laymen with no training in Scripture or formal education. They recognized them as companions of Jesus, but with the man right before them, seeing him standing there so upright—so healed!—what could they say against that?

They sent them out of the room so they could work out a plan. They talked it over: “What can we do with these men? By now it’s known all over town that a miracle has occurred, and that they are behind it. There is no way we can refute that. But so that it doesn’t go any further, let’s silence them with threats so they won’t dare to use Jesus’ name ever again with anyone.”

They called them back and warned them that they were on no account ever again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus."2

Think of it - the Jewish leaders are incensed, including Caiaphas, who must be saying, 'I thought I got rid of this 'Jesus of Nazareth' once and for all, just weeks ago--and now trouble over Him has erupted again. This must be stopped!'

How do Peter and John respond? Surely they will agree to stop talking about Jesus--at least while they are in front of the Jewish leaders. Nope and nope.

Luke writes, "But Peter and John spoke right back, “Whether it’s right in God’s eyes to listen to you rather than to God, you decide. As for us, there’s no question—we can’t keep quiet about what we’ve seen and heard.”

The religious leaders renewed their threats, but then released them. They couldn’t come up with a charge that would stick, that would keep them in jail. The people wouldn’t have stood for it—they were all praising God over what had happened--" the crippled man being miraculously healed!3

Friends, Peter is front and center, a third time, before a crowd of people. Once again, he drives home the point about Jesus Christ, but this time, directing his comments to the assembled Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council about 74 in number. 'You crucified Him, but GOD raised Him from the dead.' Why does Peter insist on drilling down on these accusatory remarks, ostensibly pointing in the faces of the Jewish leaders? hmm

Luke reminds us that Peter is filled with the Holy Spirit's power; as such, he is emboldened by him and directed what to say. It will always be the will of God to draw lost people to himself--to the truth of the salvation that is found in Jesus Christ alone. Perhaps there is a wee bit of pity in the heart of Peter for these arrogant, hard-hearted Jews, who could not recognize the truth when he had stood right in from of them. ''It is not too late to see your error in crucifying Jesus, the Son of God, our Messiah, who God raised from the dead. See the error of your ways. Repent. . . turn around.''

And then Peter puts the exclamation mark on his message by saying,

"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

Jesus had said of Himself, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." Period.4 There you have it: no apologies for the truth. There is no other way to right relationship with God than through believing in the Lord Jesus Christ.

We live in a day and age where people wish to make all faiths equal, (pluralist thinking), to the extent that they have nominalized the saving power in the name of Jesus Christ. Many wish to believe that 'all roads lead home.' So long as you are a good person, and you believe in some 'god' then that is okay. It is only okay if you do not have a soul--only okay if you are willing to risk spending eternity out of the presence of God.

The Jewish leaders did not know what to do with Peter and John; after all, people knew the crippled beggar was a changed man, miraculously healed! And it was just because they saw a miracle they had to know more--they wanted to know the God of Peter and John.

There was no going back after that day - not for the walking man, for Peter and John, or those who witnessed it all and wanted more. When the power of God is on display, it is attractive. Those who experience it do not soon forget it.

Come, Holy Spirit. We need you.

Grow our faith in who God is in our lives.

Fill us afresh with the same power that Peter knew,

that we will experience the life-giving power of Jesus Christ,

and see the miraculous hand of God move in answer to our faith-filled prayers.

In the mighty name of Jesus Christ,

Amen.

What If? Listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hALN_U_Vcow&list=RDhALN_U_Vcow&a...

Christine - PastorWoman.net

Acts, no.14

1 - about 5,000? Yes, that number is just the men; there are many more including women and children

2 - Luke 4.5-18, The Message

3 - Luke 4.19-22

4 - John 14.6