Acts 4:5 The next day it happened that the Council of all the Jewish leaders was in session in Jerusalem— 6 Annas the High Priest was there, and Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and others of the High Priest’s relatives. 7 So the two disciples were brought in before them.
“By what power, or by whose authority have you done this?” the Council demanded.
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Honorable leaders and elders of our nation, 9 if you mean the good deed done to the cripple, and how he was healed, 10 let me clearly state to you and to all the people of Israel that it was done in the name and power of Jesus from Nazareth, the Messiah, the man you crucified—but God raised back to life again. It is by his authority that this man stands here healed! 11 For Jesus the Messiah is (the one referred to in the Scriptures when they speak of) a ‘stone discarded by the builders which became the capstone of the arch.’ 12 There is salvation in no one else! Under all heaven there is no other name for men to call upon to save them.”
Imagine the Council of all the Jewish leaders with the High Priest, the previous High Priest, John, Alexander, and many of the High Priest’s relatives. When Peter and John healed that cripple, the Council was already preparing to meet. God’s timing is perfect; however, Peter and John would have been just as happy if all the VIPs of the Jewish religion had NOT been meeting in Jerusalem just then! But now the two disciples had no way out; they could only witness to what had happened and God’s reasons for doing so. And the Sadducees were practically foaming at the mouth. These upstarts were preaching that salvation came through faith and not through observing the minutiae of the Mosai Law. And they were claiming that the Messiah had already come and that the very people who claimed to be waiting for him had killed him. Blasphemy!
13 When the Council saw the boldness of Peter and John and could see that they were obviously uneducated non-professionals, they were amazed and realized what being with Jesus had done for them! 14 And the Council could hardly discredit the healing when the man they had healed was standing right there beside them! 15 So they sent them out of the Council chamber and conferred among themselves.
16 “What shall we do with these men?” they asked each other. “We can’t deny that they have done a tremendous miracle, and everybody in Jerusalem knows about it. 17 But perhaps we can stop them from spreading their propaganda. We’ll tell them that if they do it again we’ll really throw the book at them.” 18 So they called them back in, and told them never again to speak about Jesus.
19 But Peter and John replied, “You decide whether God wants us to obey you instead of him! 20 We cannot stop telling about the wonderful things we saw Jesus do and heard him say.”
21 The Council then threatened them further and finally let them go because they didn’t know how to punish them without starting a riot. For everyone was praising God for this wonderful miracle— 22 the healing of a man who had been lame for forty years.
What are the religious leaders going to do? True, these men obviously have rudimentary educations and are not scholars; yet, they have prayed and God has acted. No matter how much anyone might argue, that crippled beggar is still walking and leaping and shouting God’s praises. Everybody in the temple has witnessed the healing. In addition, word about the healing has spread throughout Jerusalem so people who didn’t witness the original healing are now staring at the man who’s been healed. All the authorities can do is to threaten Peter and John, but everyone knows those threats are useless. Word about the healing has now spread far beyond Jerusalem, and this miracle has become the main topic of conversation throughout Judea. God must be chuckling as the religious leaders practically chew their beards in frustration.
There are several events happening here. When Peter and John pray, a cripple is miraculously healed. Then Peter the fisherman preaches another pungent sermon, convincing thousands to believe in Jesus Christ. Meanwhile, religious authorities whose beliefs have hardened into granite are trying to ignore the fact that they might have murdered the Messiah and that their carefully-constructed religious structures are wrong. The Holy Spirit is moving and no human can stop Him.
We read these accounts and wonder if God still does such miracles today. In every generation there have been those who have preached and witnessed miracles. In 1978 I attended a Benny Hinn service in Charleston, WV. As Hinn preached, hundreds of people came forward for healing. When Hinn stretched out his hands over several rows of young people sitting in the front of the auditorium, every one of them swooned under the power of the Holy Spirit. Hinn didn’t give any information ahead of time but merely allowed God to move. Reinhard Bonnke, the South African evangelist, saw 79 million people come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Many of God’s most effective workers are quite humble, speaking to groups. Our late friend Madame Doris Hockett saw hundreds of healings during her ministry and always gave God the credit. Doris conducted her last services just a few weeks before her death at the age of 86.
What does it take for God to do miracles? We must be faithful and brave enough to risk appearing ridiculous. Sometimes people are healed instantly and sometimes it takes days or weeks or months. But God will always move when we pray, even if the results are not as dramatic as those described in Acts. The main thing for us is to continue to pray and leave the results to God.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to be faithful and brave, willing to risk looking foolish and praying anyway. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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