Worship in the Temple had not been that lively for quite some time. The man born lame had caused quite a scene. When the man stood with Peter and John in Solomon's Porch, a crowd gathered and Peter preached a sermon. However, the crowd was noisy and seemed to grow by the moment. This was not a good thing in the eyes of the Temple guards. Crowds might get out of control and do bad things which would upset the precarious balance between Rome and the Jews' few remaining freedoms.
They first listened to the message Peter preached, and found he was expounding on the rebellious rabbi recently executed, Jesus of Nazareth, claiming He had risen from the dead. For the Sadducees, the political party which included the ruling High Priest and the priestly families, this challenged their assertion there was no afterlife and certainly no resurrection from the dead. For the Scribes and Pharisees, it was a promotion of Jesus as Messiah, which they could never allow. Since by now it was nearly dark, they arrested the trio and held them in custody overnight.
We don't know the occasion, but the entire extended household of the ruling priestly families were in Jerusalem, so virtually every possible member of the Sanhedrin, plus a large number of other political heavyweights, gathered the next morning for a hearing. They demanded Peter and John, standing with the formerly lame beggar, confess on whose authority this disturbance took place. Peter had no trouble answering directly. He wondered aloud why they were bothered with a man's healing, but it was in the name of Jesus the Messiah, from Nazareth. Peter pointedly notes the Sanhedrin were guilty of having Jesus executed, but God raised Him from the dead. Had the Sanhedrin produced the dead body of Jesus, or even firm testimony from a sergeant of the Temple Guard where the body lay, it would have been pretty simple business. Instead, they face Peter, who says Jesus is the one they found flawed, but which God chose as the foundation of His work.
In Palestine, most structures were built on sloping stony ground. The most common way to prevent slippage of stone structures was to cut into the hillside, place a massive block which tilted back into the soil, then place the rest of the stones up the slope against this immovable block. Were any cracks visible, it could not be used, since it bore the weight of the entire structure. Jesus was God's Chosen, the one and only name by which any man could approach God for reconciliation. He was the one and final offering for sin.
Both Peter and John spoke with a Galilean accent, the speech of country bumpkins in their day. Educated men would cultivate the refined speech pattern of the priests. Further, genuine rabbis would always speak in a certain predictable fashion, giving verbal footnotes every sentence or two, which made it hard for peasants to follow. These guys simply asserted the truth, as if it were self-evident. They were just laymen, yet clearly not boasting nonsense. They sounded just like Jesus had. There stood the man, and none of the three were the least bit cowed by the number or appearance of the whole governing class of Israel arrayed before them.
The trio were led out of the hall while the Sanhedrin conferred over the situation. There was nothing they could do about the miracle; it was all over town by now. Notice they do not at all address the central claim of Peter and John about Jesus risen from the dead. Instead, they agree the preachers had to be silenced about the name of Jesus. Called back in, Peter and John were threatened. The two were not impressed, because they answered the command was at conflict with God's command. Whom did the Sanhedrin expect them to obey? Another threat served no purpose, and punishment was simply out of the question. There was no trumped up charge as they had against Jesus, and these two were at least as popular. A man over forty healed of lameness from birth -- this was not something the Sanhedrin could hush up quickly.
Upon release, Peter and John reported back to the swelling congregation of disciples in Jerusalem. Luke records a lovely prayer which contains no hint of fear, but a request for even more boldness, and more signs and wonders by the name of Jesus. We should assume that prayer was granted, for there was a sign in the shaking of the building itself. Further, they were all so bursting with spiritual power they had no trouble speaking boldly.
The primary manifestation in the several thousand members of the group was a divine sense of oneness. As noted previously, these people had turned away from their earthly identity as Jews to the heavenly identity as True Jews. They no longer cared much for the trappings of this life, and regarded it all as the means to bringing more glory to the name of Jesus. So selling their property holdings was no challenge at all, and giving away the proceeds was such a release from the cares of this world. There was plenty of money for just about anything anyone really needed to keep going, to keep telling the story of Jesus. One fellow in particular sold a very large estate. His name was Joses Barnabas, "Son of Encouragement." He was from the Tribe of Levi, and wealth was typical for them. What a contrast to the Sanhedrin, and what a testimony it was to the growing church in Jerusalem!
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By Ed Hurst
23 May 2008
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