It reminds me of how the disciples became bold, after Jesus rose from the dead.
The disciples had waited in Jerusalem for the promised coming of the Holy Spirit. 120 disciples were gathered when the Holy Spirit descended upon them. At that moment Peter spoke boldly and 3000 men were baptized into the faith.
In the incident we discuss today, a second moment of opportunity occurred, Peter and John prayed over a man who couldn’t walk and he was miraculously healed. Peter began speaking to the crowds, and it says in Acts 4:4, that the number of men who believed became 5,000. As they spoke to the crowds, the priests and temple guards came and arrested them and threw them into jail.
The next morning Peter and John were brought before the Sanhedrin, the religious ruling body of the nation. This would be like being brought into a court room, or brought before the house of representatives to be questioned. This would be very intimidating. These were powerful and learned men.
Yet they spoke boldly of Jesus, declaring, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (v.12)
As they spoke before the governing authorities, they were respectful, they weren’t rude or antagonizing. They spoke politely, but clearly and plainly, the truth which they had witnessed: Jesus is really real.
Today for our devotional thought, we discuss the courage of average people. We’ll be in Acts 4:13-21 today. And it begins like this:
“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.”
They were courageous – (also often translated boldness) – The leaders noted their courage.
1828 dictionary: “Bravery; that quality of mind which enables men to encounter danger and difficulties with firmness”
Greek word for courage(boldness): parrēsia
From the Vines Expository Dictionary: (a), primarily, "freedom of speech, unreservedness of utterance..."
(b) "the absence of fear in speaking boldly; hence, confidence, cheerful courage...”
They were noted to be unschooled – Average ordinary men, no professional training in an academic setting (many of us are unschooled, but we may speak of Jesus plainly as well)
They had been with Jesus – Peter and John had been with Jesus and they could tell.
We’ve also been with Jesus. And if we spend time with Jesus, people will be able to tell. We will have the aroma of heaven around us.
Could someone today tell that you’ve been with Jesus? Or sense that you’ve been scrolling on your phone for the last hour?
Next, verse 14-15: “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.
The evidence was clear. The Sanhedrin had called the crippled man as well, and he’s standing there on his feet. The evidence silences them.
Is the evidence clear in your life? If you were called to a court room today, would there be enough evidence to convict you for being a Christian?
There are three power forms of evidence I’ve noticed that speak very clearly to a lost world.
First, Empathy. When we reach out to someone, listen to them and share in their struggles. People take notice of that. No one listens anymore. Everyone talks. When we listen with caring, people take note of that.
Second, Holy Spirit power. When someone senses the presence of God around you, because you’ve been in prayer, they will be drawn to the words you speak, because the words are painted with the oil of God, they are anointed words. That Holy Spirit power, within the believer, is a clear sign that God is real.
Third, the most powerful evidence, is real love. Jesus said, all the world will know you are my disciples by your love for one another (John 13:35).
Not just saying we love each other, but a heart felt love, a sincere love that is evidenced in actions. A unified love.
Empathy (relationship), Holy Spirit power (God’s presence) and real Love (community). Those three together prove God is really among us.
Now don’t get me wrong, apologetics are great, evidences for God’s existence, the first cause, fine tuning, historical evidence, moral law, all of that is wonderful, but if it’s not bathed in empathy, Spirit, and love, it will be empty, even offensive.
So the Sanhedrin, they see the evidence, they don’t have a word to say, so they head back to discuss it privately.
Verse 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.”
They can’t deny it. Jesus really did heal the crippled man. The people saw the change. And the church had grown to 5,000.
The word had spread, it had gone viral, the truth was out. So, the leaders knew what they had to do: Stop the spread.
Verse 17: They said… “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.”
Anytime God does something through his church, the enemy tries to stop it. Through these leaders he’s going to try to stop God’s message from going out.
And believe me, the same is true for you. The enemy wants to keep you quiet about Jesus. Sure, you can come to church and worship him; Talk to other Christians about Jesus, but my goodness you better not talk to unbelievers. The devil gets very mad at that. “Keep it in church!” as someone said to me. My Answer: No.
Verse 18: “Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.”
Stop. Talking. About. Jesus.
I often think about this in our city. There is no rule or law that says we can’t talk about Jesus to the people around us.
But there are powerful unwritten social rules. A silent pressure that weighs down on us: Don’t bring up politics, or religion. Don’t talk about that.
Keep quiet. Just talk about the weather.
No one says it out loud. But it’s just not polite to bring up Jesus, isn’t that it? It’s an unwritten rule. Religion is private. It’s none of your business. All the stuff the devil tells us, to keep us quiet about Jesus.
But, if it is the unwritten rule that we don’t talk about Jesus in our city, that is the one rule we must break. And I think we can do it in a way that will actually be received fairly well. I really do.
People are more open than I’ve ever seen to talk about God.
If we speak with love, and then listen, and then pray, and then speak with love, then listen, then pray, and speak with love about Jesus, then listen, and then pray, you’d be amazed how receptive someone can be.
It’s a very simply formula. You’re in a conversation. Bring up Jesus. "What do you think about Jesus? Did you know he died on the cross for your sins?" Then immediately begin listening with empathy, ask questions, keep listening, as you listen, pray in your heart for them, then make another statement about Jesus, then again listen, listen, and listen, pray as you listen, then make another statement about Jesus, listen, listen, listen, love on them. Make them feel understood and heard. Make them feel that they matter, because they do. Offer to pray with them, or invite them to church. Simple. Empathy, Love, Spirit. Those three together, they just can’t deny.
It does not matter how much they deny Jesus, or raise interesting questions, or push back, if you listen, and love, and speak in Spirit, they won’t forget your empathy, your love, or how God seemed to be with you.
Speak, Listen, Pray.
Spirit, Empathy, Love.
Next, verses 19-20: 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.”
We could stay silent... Obey the unwritten American rules. But, who should we obey? God or society? The Sanhedrin tells John and Peter to be silent. And they politely refuse. They even put the question back on them, “You be the judge, which is the right thing to do? Follow God or not?” We cannot help but speak about Jesus.
You must make a decision as well. I worry many of you already have. At times I do! We’ve decided to obey the old saying, don’t bring that up, instead of obeying the Bible. But let me challenge you today: Do you want to be liked, or do you want to be faithful? It’s time to speak up, politely, tactfully, with love, about Jesus.
And it will take courage. Boldness. Which God gives abundantly. Don’t be afraid. He is with you.
Make a decision today. A new choice.
Verse 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.”
In the future, we will face further threats as well. But if we know who we are, if we aren’t shaky in our identity, we can be courageous. If someone throws it back at us, or tries to stop us, we can brush it off, because we know exactly who we are. And their opinion, or words, won’t affect how we view ourselves.
But I must confess that I've struggled with this, I recall a time in my life I was doing ministry in Gary, IN. Momentum was beginning to build in my personal evangelism, one person, then another, then another, but one day after church I stopped at this donut shop. And I thought to myself, you know what I'm going to minister to the woman at the drive through window. I offered her a gospel tract and she said, "I don't believe in God." And I began to respond and she interrupted me and demanded that I pull my car forward. And I let that incident affect me in a negative way. I began to pull back. It was like I hit a brick wall.
But I was shaky in my identity in Christ back then, I was going through a hard time in my life. And I let it affect my heart negatively.
If we know our identity in Christ, we can brush that off, like dust from our feet, and say, "So what?" It doesn't matter at all. I know who I am. I know the God I serve. And I know the devil is trying to stop me so I'm going to go minister to three more people just for good measure. If you struggle like I once did, make this your prayer today...
Prayer for Boldness: Father, in the name of Jesus we ask for boldness, we choose courage, we reject fear, and we embrace our identity in Christ. God we know who we are in you, and we will walk in it boldly, thank you Lord! But if we're hurt, we ask you to heal us, if we're nervous we'd ask you to help us choose courage, Lord we seek your mercy today, and we repent of keeping silent before you, we commit to speak up, by your power within, in Jesus name, amen.
