Today's Verse - Acts 4:13 (NIV):
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
The idea this verse seeks to convey is that Peter and John preached the name of Jesus without fear, that they were ordinary uneducated men who had no training in the Jewish faith (they also may have been perceived as men who could not write), and yet they were outspoken and had been close companions of Jesus.
Today's Comments: I don't think that it takes a rocket scientist to preach the name of Jesus. In fact, it is interesting to see that many of those who we consider to be our educated elite hold agnostic or atheistic views, some even displaying open hostility to the Christian faith. Is it because these people think more of themselves and their degrees than they do of God and their fellow man? That seemed to be true with respect to the priests, the captain of the temple guard, and the Sadducees who witnessed the preaching and healing of Peter and John. They were more interested in preserving their traditions and their jobs than they were in trying to understand the truth. Despite wide witness to their acts of healing a cripple, these people had closed their minds to the reality that was going on around them. They were willing to condemn the truth in order to live a lie.
Is that what is happening in society today? In the Episcopal Church? We must ask ourselves, "do we stand with or against God?"
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
The idea this verse seeks to convey is that Peter and John preached the name of Jesus without fear, that they were ordinary uneducated men who had no training in the Jewish faith (they also may have been perceived as men who could not write), and yet they were outspoken and had been close companions of Jesus.
Today's Comments: I don't think that it takes a rocket scientist to preach the name of Jesus. In fact, it is interesting to see that many of those who we consider to be our educated elite hold agnostic or atheistic views, some even displaying open hostility to the Christian faith. Is it because these people think more of themselves and their degrees than they do of God and their fellow man? That seemed to be true with respect to the priests, the captain of the temple guard, and the Sadducees who witnessed the preaching and healing of Peter and John. They were more interested in preserving their traditions and their jobs than they were in trying to understand the truth. Despite wide witness to their acts of healing a cripple, these people had closed their minds to the reality that was going on around them. They were willing to condemn the truth in order to live a lie.
Is that what is happening in society today? In the Episcopal Church? We must ask ourselves, "do we stand with or against God?"
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