Acts 4

September 24, 2022

Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.

Reading along with us in Acts? Here’s today’s reading:

Acts 4 (NIV)

Peter and John Before the Sanhedrin
1 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.............Continue Reading

Next: Acts 5
—
Back: Acts 3

This Post Has 5 Comments

  1. Those who heard and saw believed and the 3000 increases to 5000! The rulers and priests become threatened by this outpouring of people following the apostles and listening to the teaching.
    One might think Peter would be intimidated defending himself in front of this court but he was filled with the Holy Spirit and God gave him the words to speak boldly. We can speak boldly when we are filled with His spirit and He gives us the words it times when we may not know what to say.
    I love the picture of the early church in the end of this chapter. They come together to ask for God’s power and boldness and then the selfless nature of possessions being shared and people are more important than things. God blesses this church and they don’t go without.

    Reply

  3. You really cannot argue against a clear demonstration of the power of God. The Jewish leaders were really in a pickle: there is a buzz about Jesus that has to be addressed because they don’t like it, but the buzz is created because of an obvious miracle….40 years in the making. So maybe it is wise for them to ask what do Peter and John think about it. But this just gives Peter the opportunity to speak boldly (and don’t miss his being filled with the Spirit) about Jesus and bring them to task about killing Him. And I guess they could wish that they would stop sharing about Him, but how can they stop. They cannot unknown what they know. They cannot unsee what they have seen. And for the power of God to continue to work through them based in Jesus, just further solidifies there need to keep sharing. You can warn all you want, but they have to believe God and not follow an earthly authority. And I hope all of us see that all these things should be true of us too….how can we help not share Jesus in all the truth we know about Him and all the things that He has done. And boy is the prayer they pray a fitting one for us to pray as well..and then let God decide how He will move. We should also emulate the sacrificial giving that disconnects us from our possessions and connects us to the body of Christ recognizing their needs are greater than mine…..

    Reply

  4. As the name of Jesus becomes more forbidden or rare as it seems to be, may we be compelled to pray and be filled with the Holy Spirit to share the gospel of Jesus. May the increase of wickedness cause a revival in men’s hearts!

    Reply

  5. The Sadducees were harassing Peter and John for healing someone just like they harassed Jesus. Even though they were against their teachings, many people were becoming believers. I think that verses like this one are most important in the Bible: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” So many people think that God will accept them if they believe in him, but not in his son Jesus. They think Christians are prejudiced, biased and rigid because they think this way. However, we think this way because the Bible tells us this is true. Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life. Noone can come to the Father except through me”. We simply cannot live out our faith without believing that wholeheartedly. The believers spoke it boldly, they were unified by it and they took care of one another by selling their possessions. Today these are all good examples of Christian behavior.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back To Top