Thursday after the Fourth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on June 27, 2024 by under
Scripture: Acts 4:1-12 (NKJV)
4:1 Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
5 And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, 6 as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?”
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: 9 If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, 10 let it be known to you all, 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 stands here before you whole. 11 This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ 12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Devotion
The Jewish leaders, because they “sat in Moses’ seat” (Matt. 23:2), actually had the proper authority to judge. It was their vocation to defend the truth and expose falsehood, to promote good works, and to condemn sin. But these Jewish leaders used their authority to condemn the apostles for a good deed done to a helpless man. They judged them, not for sin, but for teaching the truth and doing good works. This was not part of their God-given vocation.
St. Peter was right to respond to their wicked judgment by passing judgment on them in return. He condemned them for killing the Lord Jesus Christ. As an apostle, entrusted with the ministry of the Spirit, it was his duty to preach the Law to the unrepentant false teachers.
If we are judged for confessing the truth about Christ, we should not back down, even if we are judged by the rightful authorities. When the Gospel is at stake, we ought to follow what St. Peter said on a similar occasion and obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29). We must hold fast to the name of Jesus no matter what, because there is no other name by which we can be saved from our sin.
Collect: Grant, O Lord, we beseech Thee, that the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered by Thy governance, that Thy Church may joyfully serve Thee in all godly quietness; 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.
