7 May. Peter & John speak boldly before the Jewish Council
“While Peter and John were speaking to the people [about the crippled man who had been healed through the power of the Holy Spirit], [some] Jewish priests, the Captain of the soldiers who guarded the Temple and [some] Sadducees [who didn’t believe in life after death] came up to them. They were upset because the two apostles were teaching the people [at Solomon’s Portico in the outer courtyard of the Temple] and were preaching that people will rise from the dead through the power of Jesus.”
“The Jewish leaders grabbed Peter and John and put them in jail. Since it was already night [and the Jewish Council could only convene legally during the day], they kept them in jail until the next day…”
“The next day the Jewish rulers, the Jewish elders and the teachers of the [Jewish ] law met in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest, Caiaphas [the chief priest who had condemned Jesus to death], John and Alexander were there, as well as everyone from the high priest’s family. They made Peter and John stand before them [as they had done a few weeks earlier with Jesus] and then asked them, ‘By what power or authority did you do this?'”
“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the [Jewish] people and you elders, are you questioning us about a good thing that was done to a crippled man? Are you asking us who made him well? We want all of you and all the Jewish people to know that this man was made well by the power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth. You crucified him, but God raised him from the dead.'”
“'This man was crippled, but he is now well and able to stand here before you because of the power of Jesus. Jesus is
"the stone that you builders rejected,
which has become the cornerstone."'” [Psalm 118:22]
“'Jesus is the only One who can save people [from their wrongdoing]. His name is the only power in the world that has been given to save people [from evil ways]. We must be saved [from our ungodly ways] through him…'”
“Because they saw the healed man standing there beside the two apostles, they [the Jewish elders] could say nothing against them… They could not find a way to punish them. Because all the people were praising God for what had been done.”
(Acts 4:1-31)
Peter and John were either crazy or amazingly inspired by the Holy Spirit. The members of the Jewish Council (the ‘Sanhedrin’) who had them arrested by the Temple guards were exactly the same people who had tried Jesus a few weeks earlier and had twisted the truth and condemned him to death. They included the ruling Sadducees who didn’t believe in life after death because it’s not mentioned in the Jewish law (the first five books of our Old Testament).
The chances were that the same cruel fate was awaiting Peter and John. Death was staring them in the face… Yet they were not afraid, and spoke boldly about Jesus and his power to heal and forgive (which, of course, only God can do): “Jesus is the only One who can save people [from going against God’s will]… We must be saved through him.” (Acts 4:12)
They were told not to speak or teach publicly about Jesus; but they refused point blank: “Should we obey you or God? We cannot keep quiet. We MUST speak out about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:20)
As the Jewish leaders couldn’t punish Peter and John because “all the people were praising God for what had been done", they “let them go free.” (Acts 4:21) Returning to the group of Jesus’s followers meeting at John Mark’s home, they prayed, “Help us, your servants, to speak your word without fear” and “Help us to be brave by showing us your power to heal. Give proofs and make miracles happen by the power of Jesus.” (Acts 4:29-30)
Luke finishes recounting this incident by telling us, “After they had prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. They were all FILLED with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke God’s word without fear.” (Acts 4:31) Amazing!
The photo (by Sweden) shows HaYehudim Street in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem.
You can read more about how the Holy Spirit worked in the lives of the believers @ https://www.thebiblejourney.org/…/peter-john-heal-a-crippl…/