Acts 4:13-20

The members of the council were more worried about their reputation and power than they were about the fact that a man who had been lame for over 40 years had been healed—a true miracle that they should have been celebrating. Instead, they were trying to figure out how to prevent it from happening further.
What is wrong with some people? How can they be so blind to the truth, or worse yet, willfully reject it when it is right in front of them? Once people have power, they can feel threatened by anything or anyone who may outshine them. They were upset because this miracle didn’t happen through them. Had any miracles happened through them?

Yet here you have Peter and John—not one of their own, but simple men—through whom a bona fide miracle has taken place. This is what the religious leaders of the day should have been doing for the people, but they had no connection or relationship with Jesus, the Source of the miracles.

What a pickle they were in.

So they threatened Peter and John, commanding them not to speak in the name of Jesus anymore. Yet Peter didn’t back down and emphatically told them: “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than Him?” That had to go over well. The council members believed they spoke for God, yet Jesus bypassed them and performed this miracle through common men (in their eyes).

At what point do we honestly ask ourselves if we are missing something? Is our pride that important that we would risk everything just to die on our hill?

Blessed are the humble, for they shall inherit the whole earth (Jesus—Matthew 5:5).

Words to consider…