Wednesday, April 17

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On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?”  Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”  Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.   - Acts 4:5-13

Peter and John have managed to get themselves into hot water with the most powerful group in Jewish society, the Sanhedrin.  They are in this trouble primarily for continuing to talk about the love of Jesus Christ even after this council has put Him to death on the cross.  Although they were on trial before this intimidating council (the Sanhedrin), Peter quickly turned the tables on the Sanhedrin, showing that it was they who were on trial. He points out that it was not a crime to do a good deed to a cripple. Then he indicts the Sanhedrin because they had crucified Jesus, whom God had raised from the dead and in whose name this lame man had been healed. Furthermore, Peter let them know that “there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (4:12).

The members of the council were amazed at the confidence of Peter and John, who had not been educated in the rabbinical schools, they did not come from prominent families, they did not have social or economic status of any kind.  

The council was amazed at Peter and John’s boldness, especially since they were uneducated, untrained men (4:13). But they also began to recognize them as having been with Jesus. The boldness of Peter and John reminded the council of the boldness of Jesus Christ, who also was not trained in their schools.  

Think about this for a moment...this means that there was something about the way these two men responded to persecution, something about the way they faced imprisonment, something about the graceful confidence with which they handled themselves under questioning...they were not out looking for a fight, but they were not afraid to take a stand for Christ when the moment came...all of this led these Jewish leaders to recognize that these men had been with Jesus.  Is there a greater compliment, than for people to recognize that we are like Jesus because we have been with Him!

I often hear people say that they want to be more like Jesus, but I think we have some misconceptions about what Jesus was really like.  I remember hearing a fellow grad-student in theology say that he thought pastors should be more like Jesus and less like the Apostle Paul.  When I asked him for some clarification, he said that Paul was too confrontational, but Jesus was always kind and loving!

I’m not sure which translation of the Bible he was reading!  In Matthew 23, Jesus confronted the scribes and Pharisees, calling them hypocrites, whitewashed tombs, and a brood of vipers.  In Matthew 21, Jesus took a whip and drove out the money changers from the temple courts.  In Luke 11, Jesus was invited to lunch at a Pharisee’s house. He went out of his way to pronounce woes upon the Pharisees for their hypocrisy!  He was not exactly a polite dinner guest!  On many other occasions, Jesus deliberately did something to provoke controversy and point out hypocrisy or injustice.

The point is, if we’re going to be like Jesus, we will be kind and loving, but we will also be bold witnesses who confront religious hypocrisy and injustice where we have the opportunity.  We won’t be mean or rude. We will have the fruit of the Spirit, including kindness and gentleness. But we will have spent enough time with Jesus to learn from Him the importance of speaking out when God’s truth is being compromised. 

Jeff Frazier