Acts 4:13-22 - Can't help but to proclaim

The growing confidence of Peter and John was now palpable. Instead of being infuriated by the Apostles, the presiding council were stricken with awe. They  recognized that Peter and John were untrained and unschooled men. Yet they had remarkable authority.

Furthermore, standing beside them was the cripple who was obviously healed. Still the council refused to be moved by the bona fide healing. The major problem confronting the Sanhedrin was what to do with these witnesses.

Standing in full view was the cripple who was healed. Considering his age stated in verse 22, he would have been in that condition for more than 40years. That was an astounding miracle.

So the miracle plus the increasing popularity of the Apostles made the situation too hot for the  council to handle. So they ordered the accused to leave the room so that they could confer with each other.

They couldn'e deny that  a miracle had taken place. In their dilemma all they could keep on doing was to ask,"What shall we do with these men?" The obvious answer lies in believing that the Lord Jesus Christ had indeed risen. But alas! The doctrine they held made them sneered at the thought of the resurrection.

Bringing the Apostles back, what else could they do except to threaten them and command them not to preach or teach in the name of Jesus again.

Their bold answer to Sanhedrin was, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” They just simply refused to accept  the demand.

Although they were sternly warned not to share about the resurrected Christ, they insisted that they could not dismiss what they had experienced.

The council found no reason to punish them, so after warning and threatening them not to speak about Christ, what else could they do but to let them go. They couldn't do much also because the people were praising God for the healing of this 40-plus-year-old cripple.

What about the church today? There's no such barrier. So what's preventing us from boldly declaring about Christ? Let us seize every opportunity to talk about Christ.