1And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, 2greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.5On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” 8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”13Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that It had been with Jesus. 14But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. 15But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 16saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” 18So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” 21And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened. 22For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.

‘The name of Jesus rings through these chapters like a sweet refrain. Evidently He was living and at hand, or the streams of power and grace could not have poured forth to make desert lives begin to blossom as the garden of the Lord.’ F.B. Meyer.

The ministry of Jesus continues! It continues in the teeth of the same opposition, and with a similar cast of characters (villains!). How quickly they began to experience what Jesus foretold (Mt.10:16-20), and how wonderfully His promise was fulfilled to give them the needed words. Once again, Peter proclaimed Jesus with great boldness, drawing on Old Testament Scripture.

The ”Sadducees” did not believe in the resurrection (‘and that’s why they were sad, you see!!’ Or so the saying goes). They were the anti-supernaturalists, and were particularly antagonistic to the ”…proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead”(2).

The miracle was incontrovertible. For the first time, we learn that the man had been lame for more than 40 years. Why did the religious leaders not tremble at this? Why were they not repentant to hear that the Jesus they had crucified was back, and doing such things? Why were they not on their knees? It just shows how wilfully blind and hard-hearted we can be in our sin. ‘None so blind…’etc.etc.

Don’t despise the day of small things. Their ministry to one man set huge waves in motion. What started with just one led to well over five thousand. Opposition could not stop this powerful movement of the Spirit. There are no limits to what God can do!

‘Reach out to the individual (v.7) and God will give you opportunities for a bigger harvest (John 4:28ff).’ Warren Wiersbe