Year 4, Day 237: Acts 4

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Discipleship Focus: Authority, Power

• Authority: Our calling.  This comes from God as king.  Because He calls us as His representatives, He gives us authority to go and do His will.
• Power: This is the natural outcome when we truly get our authority from the king.  When our authority is from God, we are equipped with His power to accomplish His will.  We act on His behalf in a world that He desperately loves.

When we look at Acts 4, we really do see an empowered Peter and John in the scriptures.  Don’t forget, these are the same people who weeks before – perhaps months at the most – had sentenced Jesus to be crucified.  Peter and John had every reason to be afraid when they are brought before the Sanhedrin.  They had every reason to expect that their life might come to the same unfortunate ending as Jesus’ life.  Of course, they would have every reason to also believe God would resurrect them at Jesus’ return, too.

In spite of whatever fear they might have had, Peter and John speak without fear.  They speak with the authority of God.  They speak the boldness of truth.  There is power in their words!

How do we know that there is power in their words?  They are let off with a warning because the name of God is being praised.  God is glorified, and because God is glorified the Sanhedrin cannot touch Peter and John.  The power in their speech reaches into the people in a deep and meaningful way.

Furthermore, look at the way that the community responds.  The persecution of the Sanhedrin only serves to bind the Christian community closer together.  The believers continue to gather together.  They continue to draw upon God and each other for strength.  They continue to display God’s ways through themselves!  The authority and power through which Peter and John speak only serves to bring God’s people closer together.

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