Today's ReadingActs 4:1-22
“Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
In today's reading, Peter and John are brought before the Sanhedrin (the council of Jewish leaders), and they are chastised for proclaiming the promise of the resurrection. In response to the challenges presented by the Sanhedrin, Peter preaches a powerful message regarding the gift of salvation found in Christ.
Unschooled, Ordinary Men
The religious leaders were astonished by the power and eloquence of Peter's speech, and then realized that Peter and John were "unschooled, ordinary men." Throughout the story of God's people, we discover that God consistently chooses to work through those whom the world might consider "ordinary" or even "weak." Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, and David (just to name a few) were flawed, ordinary men who were used by God to do extraordinary things.
We Can't Help Ourselves
After the interrogation was complete, Peter and John are instructed to stop speaking "in the name of Jesus." But Peter and John replied, "we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard." In other words, the experience of the power of the risen Christ was so transformative that Peter and John literally couldn't stop speaking about what they had witnessed.
Is our faith so powerfully alive that we can't help but speak about the wonderful news of the resurrection? Does our "witness" to Christ effortlessly overflow from our lives?
In today's reading, Peter and John are brought before the Sanhedrin (the council of Jewish leaders), and they are chastised for proclaiming the promise of the resurrection. In response to the challenges presented by the Sanhedrin, Peter preaches a powerful message regarding the gift of salvation found in Christ.
Unschooled, Ordinary Men
The religious leaders were astonished by the power and eloquence of Peter's speech, and then realized that Peter and John were "unschooled, ordinary men." Throughout the story of God's people, we discover that God consistently chooses to work through those whom the world might consider "ordinary" or even "weak." Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, and David (just to name a few) were flawed, ordinary men who were used by God to do extraordinary things.
We Can't Help Ourselves
After the interrogation was complete, Peter and John are instructed to stop speaking "in the name of Jesus." But Peter and John replied, "we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard." In other words, the experience of the power of the risen Christ was so transformative that Peter and John literally couldn't stop speaking about what they had witnessed.
Is our faith so powerfully alive that we can't help but speak about the wonderful news of the resurrection? Does our "witness" to Christ effortlessly overflow from our lives?
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