Acts 5:12-42: The Signs and Wonders People

We have been told in Acts 2:43 about the signs and wonders the apostles were doing and we see them now. I so wish I could have been there and seen people being healed as the apostles’ shadow went by them and other great events. Literally, we may not see these things happen, but there is a sense where we see this happen all around us. For right among the people of St. Barnabas I see miraculous answers to prayer (not all as instant as the book of Acts but they still happen) and I do see people becoming whole (physically, spiritually, emotionally, relationally) in the shadow of the love and grace of their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Then when I add the ministry we are doing as “salt and light” in the world around us, the miracles only multiply (in classrooms, workplaces, soccer fields, and other places). We still are “signs and wonders” people.

The response of the religious status quo was to arrest and persecute the apostles. We must never forget that the Jewish leadership saw the Christians as a dangerous and heretical cult, much as we might see the folks with David Koresh in Waco or Jim Jones. We were called “the Way” and were seen as a group that needed to be stopped. The Jewish leaders were so full of the religion they knew, they had no room for a fresh movement from God. We can become the same way.

The Holy Spirit springs the apostles from jail and that leads to a direct confrontation with Annas, Caiaphas, and the gang. The speech from Gamaliel is interesting. Gamaliel was one of Saul’s (who became Paul) teachers and very well respected in his day. Rather than make a big stir, Gamaliel shows them other movements that were “flash in the pan.” Things took care of themselves. He gives the impression that he expects this Christian movement to be similar. But what he says at the end, in verse 39, is what becomes part of the rhythm of the book of Acts:

“But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting with God.”

The disciples leave rejoicing that they have been counted worthy to suffer for Christ. They are not only signs and wonders people, they are people of the cross. How are we “signs and wonders” people at St. Barnabas and how are we “people of the cross?”