Acts 4: 1-22

The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. ² They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. ³ They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. ⁴ But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.⁵ The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. ⁶ Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family. ⁷ They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! ⁹ If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, ¹⁰ then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. ¹¹ Jesus is“‘the stone you builders rejected,    which has become the cornerstone.’
¹² Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”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. 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. 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. ¹⁷ 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.”¹⁸ Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹ 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.”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. ²² For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.

- Acts 4:1-22

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Something that really struck me here is how confident Peter and John was when speaking about God. When Peter and John were seized, they were put in front of some really important leaders and were questioned. If you were put in front of judges you would probably feel nervous or scared. On the contrary, Peter and John were able to speak in front of the high priest and was even able to turn the tables. It’s almost like they threw the questioning back by saying that it shouldn’t be wrong to perform an act of kindness to a man who was lame and that this was made possible in the name of Jesus Christ whom THEY crucified and whom God raised from the dead. They then followed by saying that there is salvation in no one else.

To note that Peter and John were both uneducated and yet because they believed in our savior, they were able to speak in great confidence. And because of that, even the high priests were amazed. I think this really shows the power of God in them. They did not have to do anything else, but to obey and proclaim the word of God. When they were ordered to stop what they’re doing, they said that they would not because they just can’t stop speaking of the things that they have seen and heard.

We as followers of Jesus can learn from this as well. How can we be confident in God?

We know that Peter and John spent a lot of time with Jesus. You can’t really speak of something that you don’t know, and so we also must spend time with Jesus. We have to let Jesus come into our lives and let him work through us. When you spend a lot of time with a friend, you start realizing what they are like or even sometimes what they think and sometimes you start speaking for them. Similarly, as we spend time with Jesus and learn more about him and his truth, we start to understand who he is, and we speak of him to other people.

Peter and John also knew and spoke a lot of truth about Jesus. Because they have heard and seen him, they just could not stop speaking about him. Because they knew Jesus, they are able to speak about him confidently. We too know what Jesus has done and his teachings through scriptures. And so, we can be confident in Him as well as we learn more about him in the scriptures.

Peter and John also believed in Jesus Christ as our savior. In today’s world, we often say “I personally believe ….” Because there are so many different “truths” out there, we diminish the value of our own beliefs and somewhat accept other people’s “truths” by saying “I personally believe ___” As a follower of Jesus, we don’t just “personally” believe that Jesus is our savior. We know that He is our savior and we proclaim that our salvation comes with no one else but Him. Peter was able to say this in great confidence, he didn’t just say “I personally think he’s my savior” but rather he confidently with no doubt said the He is our salvation and no one else. Because of that many people started to believe. We as well must believe that and be able to confidently speak the truth of God.

Are you confident in God?