Peter stood up and spoke to the people and assured them nobody was drunk - it was only 9 in the morning! He explained what was happening by quoting Joel 2:28-32, and that Jesus had divine authority which had been proven to them many times. He quoted Psalm 16:8-11, that David had seen the future. Peter told them Jesus had risen from the grave and was with God. What the people were seeing and hearing were gifts of the Holy Spirit poured out upon the believers of Christ. All the people of Israel were to know that Jesus whom they crucified is the Messiah! Peter told them that they all needed to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ so their sins would be forgiven and they too could receive God's gift, the Holy Spirit. Many believed and were baptized and spent time learning from the apostles and in fellowship with them. The believers shared all their belongings with one another.
One day as Peter and John were entering the temple, they saw a crippled man who was begging for money. Peter and John looked at him and Peter told him to get up and walk in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. So he did. They went into the temple and the man continued rejoicing and jumping and praising God for healing him. The people recognized him and were amazed. The people started to listen to Peter talk at the temple. Peter spoke to the leaders and asked them why they were surprised since God can do anything. He told them that Jesus had been sent by God and they had crucified Him. But God raised Him from death. Peter told them he knew they had done it because of their ignorance, and God would forgive them if they would repent. Abraham, Moses and Samuel spoke of Jesus and that His words should all be obeyed.
Some priests and Sadduccees arrived and didn't like that they were teaching that the dead rise to life, so they threw Peter and John in jail. Many who heard, believed. The next day they were questioned by Annas, Caiaphas and other men of the High Priest's family. They wanted to know how they had healed the man and by whose authority. Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, answered so eloquently that the members of the Council were amazed because Peter was uneducated. There was nothing they could say to them. They had them leave and then tried to figure out what to do with them since everyone in Jerusalem knew what had happened to the lame man. The Council warned them to stop talking about Jesus and they said they would obey God, but they let them go. Peter and John went back to the believers and they prayed to God to allow them to continue to spread the message with boldness. God answered their prayers. The believers were close-knit group and all shared the same purpose. They shared everything they had with each other and God poured out rich blessings on them all. They would sell their possessions and give the money to the apostles.
Tomorrow read Acts 5-7:29
No comments:
Post a Comment