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The Acts of the Apostles
Chapter 4
Christian Judgment and Christian Trial of Peter and John by the Sadducees, Herod and Pontius Pilate Story
Greetings to you once again from Daily Bread. Happy to have you here
again, to study The Acts of the Apostles. As you probably might have
guessed, it wasn't all smooth sailing for the Apostles, just as it
wasn't for Jesus. In fact, if you're expecting your walk of faith as
a Christian to be any different, you may be in for some surprises.
That's not to discourage you in any way, but contrarily, to
encourage you. There are trials ahead, and each time you're faced
with one, you can smile to yourself, and be confident that you're
following in Jesus' footsteps, because, if you weren't, the adversary
wouldn't have any need to challenge you.
Now, as we rejoin the Apostles, guess who's back on the scene. Why of
course, it's the Religious rulers of Jerusalem, the priests, the
captain of the Temple, and the Sadducees. They were upset that Peter
and John were teaching the people about Jesus and preached through
Jesus about the resurrection from the dead. (Remember, the Sadducees
don't believe in resurrection.) So they took them into custody
overnight because it was evening.
But, many of the people who heard the word that day, believed, and
that was about 5,000 men. The next day, the rulers, elders and
scribes, and Annas the high priest and Caiaphas (who Jesus was taken
to first, when He was arrested), and John and Alexander, and the
family of Annas, were gathered together at Jerusalem. They brought
Peter and John to their wanna be court and asked, Under whose
authority have you done this? (Does that sound familiar to you?
Remember they asked Jesus the same thing when He was teaching in the
Temple (Matthew
21:23).
Christian Judgment and Christian Trial of Peter and John by the Sadducees, Herod and Pontius Pilate Journey
Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, answered, You rulers of the
people and elders of Israel, If today we're questioned about the
healing of the lame man and how he has been healed, let it be known
to all of you and the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus
Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead
... Through Him, this man stands here before you, made well. Jesus is
the stone that was rejected of you builders, that has become the
cornerstone (Psalms
118:22 and Isaiah
28:16). There is salvation in no other, for there is none other
under Heaven through which we can be saved.
When the leaders saw the boldness of Peter and John, and sensed that
they were uneducated, they were surprised, and they realized that
they'd been with Jesus. Seeing the man who was healed standing with
them, they couldn't say anything against it. They dismissed Peter and
John from the council and discussed among themselves what they should
do with these men, because indeed, a remarkable miracle had been done
by them, for all of Jerusalem to see, and they couldn't deny it.
But ... So that the news of this wouldn't spread any further
among the people, they decided to strictly threaten them. They called
Peter and John and ordered them not to speak at all or teach in the
name of Jesus, but Peter and John answered and said, If it's right in
the sight of God to listen to you before God, you judge.
We must speak the things that we've seen and heard. When the council
threatened them further, they let them go, finding no grounds to
punish them, for fear of the people, because they all glorified God
for the miracle that was done. After all, the man was more than forty
years old who this miracle of healing was bestowed
on.
Christian Judgment and Christian Trial of Peter and John by the Sadducees, Herod and Pontius Pilate Adventure
When they let them go, Peter and John went back to the other
disciples and told all about what the priests and elders said to them.
Acts 4:24-30
24 And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to
God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made
heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:
25 Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why
did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?
26 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were
gathered together against the Lord, and against His Christ [Psalms
2:1-2].
27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou
hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and
the people of Israel, were gathered together,
28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel
determined before to be done.
29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant
unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,
30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs
and wonders may be done by the name of thy Holy Child Jesus.
When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together
shook and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke
the word of God with boldness. All those who believed were of one
heart and of one soul, and none of them said that any of the things
he possessed was his own but they shared everything in common
(commonwealth). None of them wanted for anything, because whoever
joined the Christian movement and owned lands or houses sold them and
brought the money of the things that were sold and laid it at the
Apostles' feet, and the Apostle's distributed it according to
everyone's need.
Christian Judgment and Christian Trial of Peter and John by the Sadducees, Herod and Pontius Pilate Truth
A man named Joses, who the Apostles called Barnabas, which means, The
son of consolation, a Levite from Cyprus, sold his land and brought
the money and gave it to the Apostles. You'll be hearing more about
Barnabas throughout the book of Acts as he will be used as a tool for
God.
Well, as you can see again, Peter has come a long way from the fear
of saying, I don't know the man, to boldly proclaiming, Jesus Christ
of Nazareth is the only way on earth to be saved! As today's
Christian disciples, we have to take a lesson from the Apostles.
If you lack confidence in being bold about spreading the Gospel, or
if you think that you're not wise enough or worthy enough to glorify
the Lord, just remember a couple of things that that Paul said. In 1
Corinthians 1:26-27 he said, Not many educated, mighty, and
well respected are called, but God has chosen the foolish things of
the world to confound the wise and the weak things of the world to
confound the mighty, and the simple things of the world, and things
that are despised, has God chosen, yes, and things which are as
nothing, to bring to nothing, things that are.
Christian Judgment and Christian Trial of Peter and John by the Sadducees, Herod and Pontius Pilate Summary
Paul explains this yet again in
1 Corinthians 3:18-21, Let no man be deceived. If any of you seem
to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise (
Proverbs
3:7). For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with
God. For it is written, He takes the wise in their own craftiness (Job
5:13), and also, The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that
they're vain (Psalms
94:11).
Let that be the reason why Jesus had no respect of persons. That
means that it didn't matter to Him if someone was rich or poor,
educated or uneducated, strong or weak, etc. As you've just learned,
the Holy Spirit, speaking through you, is all the Lord wants. He
doesn't need you to be a scholar, or anything other than His vessel
that He can speak through. The only thing you have to be ... Is
willing.
Christian Judgment and Christian Trial of Peter and John by the Sadducees, Herod and Pontius Pilate Conclusion
We'll learn more about the Acts of the Apostles so we can learn more
of how to be a disciple of the Lord, in our next Daily Bread. Join in
again!
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