Acts Chapter 4

The Unbelief of the Jewish Leaders

The Jewish leaders crucified Jesus on the cross. And in Acts Chapter 3, even after witnessing the miracle performed in the name of Jesus by apostles Peter and John, they still hardened their hearts and refused to believe Jesus was the Christ. Due to pride in their hearts, though their eyes could see, their hearts were closed. Even though “they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.” (Acts 4:13-14) Why is it that they were amazed at the courage and insight of Peter and John, yet still wanted to refute the fact that Jesus was the true God who granted them with the ability to perform miracles? Though they clearly witnessed Peter and John performed a “notable miracle” (v16), they wanted to threaten them and prevent them from teaching in Jesus’ name (v17). If someone is proud refuses to humble himself, his hearts will be closed and he is in fact deceiving himself. Through “the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,” (Roman’s 1:20), yet those whose hearts are closed may not be moved. When preaching the gospel, may we remember to plead God to open the hearts of the truth seekers, lest having seen great acts and having heard persuasive messages, they are not moved and take it for granted.

The Faith of the Believers

Even though they saw Peter and John being threatened by the Sanhedrin, the believers raised their voice with one accord to praise God, and to ask for boldness in preaching the gospel and performing signs and wonders. Even though they knew that believing in Jesus and preaching would lead to persecution, physical harm and death, they did not lose courage and continued to gather together to pray and praise God. Moreover, they took care of each other, even sold their property to provide for the needs of others, completely disregarding material possessions. We who live in a capitalist society find it very hard to have this level of trust, faith and selfless love. We see here that because they had complete trust in the Lord, they were willing to be persecuted for Him, and God also caused them to be filled with the Holy Spirit, added to their boldness and love. Let us consider, even though we are not facing persecution currently, do we have the faith to demonstrate such selfless love for the brethren?

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