Nothing They Could Say

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Acts 4:8-14 “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 man who was lame and are being 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. Jesus is “the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.” Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.’ When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say.”

Think

Picture a guy at your school who is known for his temper. In seventh grade he got suspended twice for fighting. In eighth grade he flipped a desk in math class. Then he goes away for a week over the summer, and when school starts back up, something is different. He apologizes to a teacher in front of the whole class. When someone shoves him in the hallway, he just walks away. He isn’t perfect, and he would be the first to tell you that. People keep asking him, “What happened to you?” Nobody has to win a debate about whether something happened. Everybody can see it.

Arguments can always be argued with. A changed life standing right in front of you is a lot harder to wave away. That is the problem Jerusalem’s religious leaders run into in Acts 4.

Back up one chapter. A man who had been unable to walk since birth was carried to the temple gate every day to beg. He was over forty years old, and crowds of worshipers had walked past him for years. Then one afternoon, Peter and John stopped and said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” And he did. He went into the temple with them, walking and jumping and praising God.

The leaders arrested Peter and John and put them on trial before the same council that had condemned Jesus. Not long before, Peter had been so afraid that he told the people around a fire that he didn’t even know Jesus. Now he stands in front of the most powerful men in the city and calls Jesus the one “whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead.” Something happened to Peter between that fire and this courtroom. He had seen Jesus alive, and verse 8 says he was “filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Then Peter says the line that still makes people uncomfortable: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” That can sound narrow, even arrogant. Your friends might tell you all religions are basically the same, just different paths up the same mountain. That is a fair thing to wrestle with. Different religions do share some good things, like caring for the poor and telling the truth. But they make very different claims about who God is, what is wrong with us, and how it gets fixed, so they can’t all be true at the same time.

Peter isn’t saying, “My team is better than your team.” He is pointing to an event: Jesus was crucified, and God raised him from the dead. If that really happened, Jesus isn’t one choice among many. Imagine you are lost on a hiking trail as the sun goes down, and a park ranger tells you there is only one trail that gets back to the parking lot before dark. You wouldn’t call him narrow-minded. You would thank him and follow him. When something is true and someone’s life depends on it, saying so is the kindest thing you can do.

Now look at verse 13. The council “saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men.” These leaders were the trained experts. Peter and John were fishermen with no formal training as teachers and no polished speeches. But the council “took note that these men had been with Jesus.” The most convincing thing about them wasn’t how much they knew. It was who they had been with.

And then there was the man. “Since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say.” The council could argue with Peter’s theology and look down on his education. They could not argue with a man over forty standing on two working legs in the middle of the room.

These last two weeks have been full of evidence: eyewitnesses, ancient manuscripts, prophecy written centuries in advance, and an empty tomb. All of it matters. Keep it. Know it. But the first evidence most people around you will ever look at is you. You don’t have to be the smartest person in the room or have every answer ready. You just need to have been with Jesus.

Somebody in your life knows your before. Spend enough time with Jesus, and one day they may look at you the way that council looked at Peter and John and ask what happened. Be ready to tell them.

Apply

Name what changed – Think about what is different in your life because of Jesus. If you grew up in church and can’t remember a “before,” think about when your faith started to feel like your own. If you are still figuring it out, be honest about where you are. Before the day ends, tell one friend or your small group leader what you came up with.

Pray

God, Peter and John weren’t impressive on paper, but people could tell they had been with you. I want that to be true of me. I’m not always brave, and Peter wasn’t either, but you changed him. Change me in ways people can see, and help me tell them why when they ask. In Jesus’ name. Amen.