Take note of the words of Peter and John
After their arrests and imprisonment by Jewish leaders just after the Day of Pentecost, there is a powerful interaction that we can apply to our lives, our interactions, and (most importantly) our faith:
Acts 4:1-20
(notably verse 20).
1 And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the
temple and the “Sadducees came up to them,
2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming” in
Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
3 And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was
already evening.
4 But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of
the men came to about five thousand.
5 On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in
Jerusalem.
6 and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander,
and all who were of the high-priestly descent.
7 When they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire,“By what
power, or in what name, have you done this?”
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the
people,
9 if we are on trial today for a benefit done to sick man, as to how this man
has been made well,
10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that “by the name”
of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the
dead, by him this man is stands before you in good health.
11 He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, which has
become the chief cornerstone.
12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under
heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
13 Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John, and understood
that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began
to recognize them as having been with Jesus.
14 And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had
nothing to say in reply.
15 But when they had ordered them to leave the Council, they began to
confer with one another,
16 saying, “What shall we do with these men? For the fact that a noteworthy
miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem,
and we cannot deny it.
17 But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let us warn them
to speak no longer to any man in this name.”
18 And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or
teach at all in the name of Jesus.
19 But Peter and John answered and said to them,“Whether it is right in the sight
of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge;
20 for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
The New Inductive Bible ( NASB) 2017 Precept Ministries International
The second wave of persecution was dealt out by the Roman government, principally at the hands of Nero. The war cry of the Church throughout both of these major persecutions, and that of the present, was “I can’t deny what I saw.”
Acts 9:3-6:
3 “As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around
him from heaven.
4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why
are you persecuting Me?”
5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you
are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”
6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?”
The Marriage Bible
by Barbara and Dennis Rainey copyright 2007.
The New King James Version copyright 1982 Thomas Nelson Inc.
Acts 16:16-24:
16 Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed
with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by
fortunetelling.
17 This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out saying, “These men are the
servants of the Most High God, proclaiming the way of salvation.”
18 And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and
said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of
her.” And he came out that very hour.
19 But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul
and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.
20 And they brought them to the magistrates and said, “These men, being Jews,
exceedingly trouble our city;
21 and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive
or observe.”
22 then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off
their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods.
23 And when they had laid many strips on them, they threw them into prison,
commanding the jailer to keep them securely.
24 Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and
fastened their feet in the stocks.”
Let’s push the “fast forward” button; you’re now in Pakistan, 2022. Vince E is telling me about his missionary journey and his story about a guy named Afar.
Afar was a suicide bomber instructor for the Al-Qaeda. The resurrected Jesus appeared to him in a dream. Afar was radically saved. You can imagine how much of a marked man he now was. In the eyes of the radical Muslims, Afar was a traitor to Mohammad. To them, Afar now deserved nothing short of death.
He knew that and didn’t care what his plight was because Jesus changed his life. Vince told me that Afar strapped Bibles around his chest like a display of ammunition and gave them out to everyone on the streets.
Why would Peter or John have allowed themselves to go through such persecution? They did because they saw the resurrected Jesus come back from the grave just like He said.
Would Paul have faced rat infested prisons, been stoned and eventually beheaded for the sake of the Gospel, if he hadn’t seen the risen Christ, Who returned from the dead just like He said.
Would Silas and Luke have put themselves into danger alongside of the Apostle Paul, if they hadn’t recognized Jesus Who returned from the grave just like He said?
How about Afar? Would he have risked losing contact with his family? Would he have also risked his life to the vengeful Al Qaeda and counted the cost of possibly being martyred if he hadn’t seen the risen Savior Who delivered on His word by returning from the dead just like He said?
Unfortunately persecution for the Gospel is still alive and well. It’s cruel impending cancer grows like a rotting seed. The soil of persecution is slowly tilled. Its’ seed gets planted in May or June, but the harvesting of it doesn’t happen until October.
Our sharing of the gospel can certainly be hamstrung by fear and shame. Is there any room for them when stacked beside the mounds of indisputable facts of Christ’s resurrection? Putting those facts in front of us, along with our own testimonies, I’m sure you’ll agree with me that we don’t face as bad of odds as we thought.
Need some encouragement? Live life for Jesus, unashamedly: for we cannot stop speaking about...
WHAT WE HAVE SEEN & HEARD!
