Acts 4:1-31: Facing Off with the Foes of Jesus

The names in this passage may be familiar to you. Annas, Caiaphas, and John were part of a family arrangement in which led the Sanhedrin for most of the first century. They were strongly connected to the Herods that ruled and the Herods were connected to Rome as puppet leaders. The opulent wealth of Annas and Caiaphas is well documented. They were religious conservatives calling for strict observance of the law in contrast to the liberal Pharisees who added to the law with laws of their own. The Pharisees were also more committed to eventual revolution from Rome, rather than cooperation. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of anybody, and especially not of Jesus. The bottom line is that Peter and John have been imprisoned by and are now being interrogated by the very ones who orchestrated the crucifixion of Jesus, scary and corrupt people with great power. Again, the boldness of these disciples is remarkable.

The disciples are clear in saying that the miracle of the healing of the man at the Beautiful Gate was not in their own power, but in the name of Jesus Christ. Acts 4:12 is a verse that is being freshly interpreted in our day and time:

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved."

Three years ago, I taught a World Religions and Philosophy course at Texas Tech. In that class of 38 students, there were 4 Hindus, 1 Buddhist, 1 Muslim, 1 Daoist, 3 declared atheists, 3 agnostics, 4 Baptists, 5 United Methodists, 9 Roman Catholics, and 5 Interdenominationals and a few undeclared. Some might have preferred that I began the course by quoting Acts 4:12, telling them that if they didn’t follow Jesus they were going to hell. Such an approach would have been contrary to the teaching posture of Texas Tech, a state university, but also a very poor strategy for Christian witness.

What Peter and John do is present Acts 4:12 positively. They have healed by the power of Jesus and they have found him to be the power of salvation for their lives and for the world. We now live in a world where people of other religions are our neighbors – our friends, our doctors and nurses, our co-workers, and our classmates. The 2 dominant religions in our world are Christianity (2.2 billion) and Islam (1.4 billion). Both have believers who think the other is going to hell. At a time when the world itself is at risk because of the religious disagreement between these two, telling each other that they are going to hell is a BAD strategy! We can positively present Christ without damning all the rest and allow judgment to be in the hands of God. What is your feeling about that?

I finish today’s reflection with a note on the role of prayer in the early church. They gather for prayer when Peter and John were arrested. They believed prayer was not only a good thing to do for their spiritual growth it was the power of survival for them. Prayer can be perfunctory and ritualistic and have little power in our lives, but that is not God’s design. Prayer in the name of Jesus is a powerful thing and the core activity of the Church.

We have finished our first week of Bible Study together. Thanks for being in the class and for growing with me in the book of Acts.