Acts 4:5-10 (NIV)
The next day the rulers, elders and teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and the other men of the high priest’s family. They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, 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.”
It was an impressive panel of leaders that came together that morning to question Peter and John. This was not a criminal proceeding, as no crime had been committed. It was an inquiry. A miracle had been claimed, and initial evidence was in favor of the cure being genuine. But as the official keepers of the faith, the Sanhedrin wanted to know how it had been done.
The initial information was that these two men had been followers of Jesus. One of them, John, was known by the high priest (John 18:15), who also knew that he had been one of Jesus’ disciples. But the very idea that these men were now proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah and doing miracles in His name filled their hearts with dread.
They had believed that they were done with Jesus, that they had removed the threat to both themselves and the Jewish nation that He represented, by orchestrating His execution. But now here were two of His followers springing up hydra-like in the very place where He Himself had been cut off.
The key question was simply, “By what power or what name did you do this?” By this time, there was no doubt that the miracle was real. Ostensibly they just needed to verify that it hadn’t been accomplished by some nefarious means, or by appealing to one of the pagan Roman gods.
The notation that Peter was “filled with the Holy Spirit” doesn’t mean that he had to be refilled at that moment. It is merely Luke’s indication that the speech that Peter was about to give, and its effectiveness, were not a result of his own knowledge or persuasiveness but was a direct result of the Holy Spirit working through Him. This was a direct fulfillment of Jesus’ promise in Matthew 10:19-20 (NIV): ”But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time, you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”
Peter was a far cry from the fearful disciple of several months earlier who had denied three times even knowing Jesus to protect his own skin. Now he met the gaze of his inquisitors directly, and boldly proclaimed that the healing had happened through the name of Jesus.
But there was also a stark reminder of the sins of the Sanhedrin in Peter’s words. He stated two facts that those leaders would rather have kept hidden. The first was that, even though it was the Romans who had executed Jesus, that execution was orchestrated by the leaders and the majority of the Sanhedrin through deceit and manipulation. They may not have pulled the trigger, but they had in a sense hired the hitman, and so were absolutely guilty of murder before God.
The second reality was that Jesus didn’t stay dead. He had risen on the third day, just as He had prophesied, despite the priest’s sealing the tomb and posting a guard. The leaders had tried to prevent word of the resurrection getting out, going so far as bribing the guards to circulate a false report of what had happened (Matthew 28:12-15). But now the incriminating reality was being spoken boldly, clearly, and loudly in a very public setting, sending terror through the whole body.
Father, as Jesus said to His followers, “Do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.” (Matthew 10:26) Though the disciples couldn’t really fathom at the time He spoke how this would be fulfilled, they recognized both the fulfillment and Your faithfulness as it all unfolded at this time. Help us, Lord, to be just as full of Your Spirit as Peter was, and to speak the truth just as boldly and clearly as he did that day, so that we can release Your power into the lives of those all around us, and so that we can see Your kingdom grow. Amen.
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