Read Acts 4:5-22 and Luke 20:1-8
5 The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family. 7 They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then 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. 11 Jesus is “the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.” 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved.” 13 When 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. 14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. 15 So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 16 “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. 17 But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.” 18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20 As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” 21 After 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. 22 For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.
1 One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him. 2 “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,” they said. “Who gave you this authority?” 3 He replied, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me, 4 John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin?” 5 They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet.”7 So they answered, “We don’t know where it was from.” 8 Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”
There are some obvious parallels here between the experience of the disciples and that of Jesus before them. It is firstly significant that Luke mentions Annas and Caiaphas – two men strongly connected with Jesus’ unjust trial (John 18:12). Secondly, as with Jesus before them, the disciples’ authority is questioned and – again like Jesus – their answer renders their accusers speechless (Acts 4:14 cf. Luke 20:7). Further, as v. 19 shows, they are adept at using questions!
- Conrad Gempf has written a very insightful book called “Jesus Asked?” – which you can check out in podcast form for FREE!!![1] Do any of Jesus’ questions stand out to you as being particularly effective and/or pertinent? In terms of engaging with people who have different beliefs to your own, do you think as carefully about what questions you could ask as you do about what answers you can provide?
It seems odd that the religious leaders should feel so aggrieved by this man’s healing and the message of the resurrection of the dead; surely both are good news?
- Why do you think they were unhappy about these things? Is their behaviour a challenge or warning to us in any way?
If you have a bit longer :-)
- Why do you think both Jesus and the disciples were asked about the source of their authority/power? Are there ever situations in which we may want to ask this question?
About the disciples, Max Lucado writes:
They aren’t the same men. Oh, I know they look like it. They have the same names. The same faces. The same mannerisms. They look the same. But they aren’t. On the surface they appear no different. Peter is still brazen. Nathanael is still reflective. Philip is still calculating. They look the same. But they aren’t. They aren’t the same men you read about in the last four books. The fellows you got to know in the Gospels? These are the ones, but different. You’ll see it. As you read you’ll see it. In their eyes. You hear it in their voices. You feel it in their passion. These men have changed…[2]
The religious leader’s are astonished at Peter and John’s courage; this same Peter who, just weeks earlier, had denied even knowing Jesus.
- In what ways has an encounter with the risen Christ changed you? Do we reflect on this enough? Why is it important to do so?
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