Saturday after the Tenth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on August 27, 2022 by under
Scripture: Acts 4:13-20 (NKJV)
4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. 14 And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. 15 But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, 16 saying, “What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name.”
18 So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”
Devotion
The priests and other religious leaders in Jerusalem continued to be obstinate in their unbelief. However, they did recognize that the work and teaching of Jesus Christ continued to have an effect on people there. God was continuing His work through His Apostolic Church! The unfaithful leaders sought to silence this message and take the saving name of Jesus from the people.
The Apostles remained faithful in their vocation. They preached repentance and salvation in the name of Jesus Christ, and they did the miraculous works that God had prepared for them to do. The self-willed leaders saw the warning, and they hated it. The Lord was saving sinners and helping the broken, and it took glory and power away from the ones who resisted God’s truth.
The Apostolic Ministry still preaches repentance and forgiveness in the name of Jesus. It still administers the miraculous Sacraments and it teaches the saints to all do the work we have been called to according to God’s benevolent good will. False teachers and self-willed adversaries also continue to antagonize the Church. They confuse Christ’s lambs and they seek to protect their own sense of control. But we must obey God rather than men. To Him be all glory, in the name of Jesus Christ!
Prayer: O God, Who declarest Thine Almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Mercifully grant unto us such a measure of Thy grace, that we, running the way of Thy commandments, may obtain Thy gracious promises, and be made partakers of Thy heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
