The Gospel of ACT
And while Peter and John were talking to the people, the priests and the captain [who was in charge of the temple area and] of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them,being extremely disturbed and thoroughly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in [the case of] Jesus the resurrection of the dead.
So they arrested them and put them in jail until the next day, because it was evening.
But many of those who heard the message [of salvation] believed [in Jesus and accepted Him as the Christ]. And the number of the men came to be about 5,000.
On the next day, their magistrates and elders and scribes (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court) were gathered together in Jerusalem;
and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all others who were of high-priestly descent.
When they had put the men in front of them, they repeatedly asked, “By what sort of power, or in what name [that is, by what kind of authority], did you do this [healing]?”
Then Peter, filled with [the power of] the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people [members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish High Court],
if we are being put on trial today [to interrogate us] for a good deed done to [benefit] a disabled man, as to how this man has been restored to health,
let it be known and clearly understood by all of you, and by all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you [demanded be] crucified [by the Romans and], whom God raised from the dead—in this name [that is, by the authority and power of Jesus] this man stands here before you in good health.
This Jesus is the stone which was despised and rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief Cornerstone.
And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among people by which we must be saved [for God has provided the world no alternative for salvation].”
Now when the men of the Sanhedrin (Jewish High Court) saw the confidence and boldness of Peter and John, and grasped the fact that they were uneducated and untrained [ordinary] men, they were astounded, and began to recognize that they had been with Jesus.And seeing the man who had been healed standing there with them, they had nothing to say in reply.
But after ordering them to step out of the Council [chamber], they began to confer among themselves,
saying, “What are we to do with these men? For the fact that an extraordinary miracle has taken place through them is public knowledge and clearly evident to all the residents of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.
But to keep it from spreading further among the people and the nation, let us [sternly] warn them not to speak again to anyone in this name.”
So they sent for them, and commanded them not to speak [as His representatives] or teach at all in the name of Jesus [using Him as their authority].
But Peter and John replied to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you and obey you rather than God, you must judge [for yourselves];
for we, on our part, cannot stop telling [people] about what we have seen and heard.”
When the rulers and Council members had threatened them further, they let them go, finding no way to punish them because [of their fear] of the people, for they were all praising and glorifying and honoring God for what had happened;
for the man to whom this sign (attesting miracle) of healing had happened was more than forty years old.
After Peter and John were released, they returned to their own [people] and reported everything that the chief priests and elders had said to them.
And when they heard it, they raised their voices together to God and said, “O Sovereign Lord [having complete power and authority], it is You who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything that is in them,
who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David, Your servant, said, ‘Why did the nations (Gentiles) become arrogant and rage, And the peoples devise futile things [against the Lord]?
‘The kings of the earth took their stand [to attack], And the rulers were assembled together Against the Lord and against His Anointed (the Christ, the Messiah).’
For in this city there were gathered together against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,
to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined [before the creation of the world] to occur [and so without knowing it, they served Your own purpose].
And now, Lord, observe their threats [take them into account] and grant that Your bond-servants may declare Your message [of salvation] with great confidence,
while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders (attesting miracles) take place through the name [and the authority and power] of Your holy Servant and Son Jesus.”
And when they had prayed, the place where they were meeting together was shaken [a sign of God’s presence]; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness and courage.
Now the company of believers was of one heart and soul, and not one [of them] claimed that anything belonging to him was [exclusively] his own, but everything was common property and for the use of all.And with great ability and power the apostles were continuously testifying to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace [God’s remarkable lovingkindness and favor and goodwill] rested richly upon them all.
There was not a needy person among them, because those who were owners of land or houses were selling them, and bringing the proceeds of the sales
and placing the money down at the apostles’ feet. Then it was distributed to each as anyone had need.
Now Joseph, a Levite and native of Cyprus, who was surnamed Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement),
sold a field belonging to him and brought the money and set it at the apostles’ feet.
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Content source: Amplified version of the Holy Bible by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631
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There are many people today who say that if only they could witness a miracle, then they would believe. But that's not true. This crowd here in chapter 4 of Acts had seen a miracle, he recognized it, but he did not believe. And you and I, dear brother, have the same human nature that those people had. The problem here does not belong to the area of the mind. It is a problem of the will and the heart. It is the heart, which is perverse in nature. Unbelief, that is, difficulty in believing, does not come from the lack of evidence; The problem lies in the condition of the human heart, which is to blame for not having enough faith.
This is a powerful revelation:
The heart does not believe because it saw, it believes because it wills. The unbelieve is as a result of the wars and contentions in the mind that must be subjected by the knowledge of God. Thank you Ma for sharing this.
The gospel of God through our Lord Jesus Christ can never be suppressed no matter the opposition. The kingdom of God has always suffered violence yet it triumph over it just like in the days of the APOSTLES
God sometimes provokes attitudes to make us grow, after the amplification of Peter and John, Peter makes a prayer where he asks the Lord to see the things that they are doing against them and tells him to stretch out your hand so that through them God performed signs, miracles and healings for the honor of his name.
And now, Lord, watch your threats [take them into account] and make your servants declare Your message [of salvation] with great confidence,
In this chapter, we read the limitation that you want to impose on the disciples of the Lord, through the arrest they receive from the head of the temple guard, so that they do not continue doing what the holy spirit was working on them. .
It is evident that in the OT only the Holy Spirit received those who were the object of a special call from God or anointed by the Lord, but under the new covenant to all believers the promise of the Father is offered to them. The active presence of the Holy Spirit in these men was evident, then, their performance was not static; hence, Luke describes the permanent bond of Peter with the power of the Holy Spirit with the same words he used to refer to his initial experience, to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
In this order of ideas, it is important to highlight what the church's performance was when the persecutors tried to extirpate the Christian movement.
The Christians resorted to prayer! Often, things that threaten to suffocate or destroy the church become the means of their preservation and advancement.
The controversy that developed over the occurrence of the miracle unleashed the persecution, in the same way, skeptics debate the relationship of miracles in Christianity.
.It is also important to say that Peter's affirmation that there is no salvation in anyone else, was Peter's way of telling all who heard him that the only way to salvation was the gospel through Jesus Christ.
Even if the government forbade them to talk about Jesus, they kept talking and testifying about Jesus, his wonders ... so there will be times when we will not be allowed to preach the gospel freely in our countries and we must arm ourselves with courage and continue preaching the Word of God and witnessing the wonders of Jesus, because our Lord will be with us supporting us.
Oh! how I wish we are always conscious of this fact each time we a re faced with trials and tribulations. The sovereignty of God is matchless and has the hearts of kings in His hands, thereby stirring it as one stirreth water.
THough we may face trying times especially when we seek to uphold Godly standards, we should always remember that God is at the centre of it all and will not let us be put to shame. Peter and John knew this and they never lost their value for God and His word even at the courts.
Thank God for @reliquary
vs 13 is worth taken note of
Illiterate men who should not amount to anything
Persons without certificate that should not be recognized in the society
These kind of men were bold, had reputation, were gathering celebrity status per se and the pharisees said for them to have achieved all these, THEY MUST HAVE BEEN WITH JESUS
Jesus opens us up to the best in life, the life of Christ isn't that of mediocrity and being average. May everything that speaks of average and mediocrity as a child of God end today in Jesus name, amen
That is the evidence of the transformation that occurs to a man who has an encounter with the Lord. Many times, the enemy and adversary loses hope in their tools and devises because they see the Mark of encounter with the Lord on us, but sadly, some believers are never conscious of this fact that is why they chicken out in the face of tribulation. God help us.
Only in JESUS, we can be saved. Nothing else can save you except Jesus. As members of the body of Christ, let's keep preaching in the name of Jesus with a persistent attitude. Even in the presence of opposition, just as Peter, keep spreading the Gospel.
Verses 6 and 7:
It is noteworthy that the people that were to judge Peter and John were priests occuying gigh positions. I would expect that these so-called priests would have more understanding of the word of God that was manifested in the life and ministry of Jesus which the apostles proclaimed, but that was not the case.
This goes a long way to say that Priestly positions does not denote priestly encounters and revelations. This begs the question "when you are stripped of your priced position in the church, will you still be found at the foot of the cross bowing to the King of kings" .
I upvoted your post.
Mabuhay, keep steeming.
@Filipino
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