The Trial
Acts 4:1-37 (June 6)
Today we find Peter and John being arrested and put on trial for the healing of the lame man and preaching about Jesus.
This reminds me of a recent...very public...trial that was televised for all of our eager eyes to see. There was drama in the courtroom. A battle for truth was fought. Someone had to be telling the truth and someone had to be lying... no matter which side you were on.
Some of what was said in that courtroom was unbelievably unbelievable. I am sure there were moments when the jurors had to refrain from showing shock, surprise, and laughter. After all, we wouldn't want them to give away what they were thinking, right?
Peter and John are arrested and thrown in jail until they can be taken in front of the council of all the rulers, elders and teachers. What a wise bunch that must have been...wink! wink!
More and more were believing their message. (And they weren't even famous movie stars!) We can give the Holy Spirit all the credit for this. That spirit had been present during the trial for which they were accused and was also present in the trial, when Peter addressed the rulers.
A good deed had been done, a kindness to a lame man that literally changed his life. Peter and John are not ashamed of what they have done. They want their accusers to acknowledge and praise the name of Jesus for this miracle.
Peter tells them, "The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved."
And while the members of the council are considering this, and actually amazed when they saw how boldly the disciples proclaimed, WE must all remember that for THIS trial, the verdict was already given.
There is NO OTHER name by which man can be saved. No mistrial, no appeal, only JESUS.
The council was afraid to issue any punishment to these two, because the majority of the crowd was for them. They were glorifying God for the miracle they had seen. But they sure did want to silence them so they couldn't spread this talk around any further. In fact, they commanded this of Peter and John.
Of course, Peter and John were having none of that! "Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? We cannot stop telling everything we have seen and heard."
With no other option, the council let them go. They went right back to the believers and told them all that was said. Together they all prayed aloud to God for boldness to continue preaching his word, despite the backlash they would face.
After this prayer, they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and preached boldly. They came together, sharing all that they had, so that no one was needy.
How beautiful that must have been...coming together to help one another. Such a more beautiful picture than the lawsuit and counter suit that many watched play out on television over the last several weeks.
Perhaps the problem with that most recent trial, the one that made headlines and caused us all to either choose sides or laugh at the ridiculousness of it all is a simple problem... There was no Holy Spirit at the trial.