Peter and John Questioned by the CouncilBible World
4:14Acts 4:14
And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.
This verse belongs to the apostles' Spirit-empowered witness, in which their words and works testified to Jesus with boldness despite opposition from those who had rejected him. The man was one who had been crippled from birth, and his visible recovery and presence with the apostles made the miracle an undeniable public witness. He stood with Peter and John before the council and before the Sanhedrin as visible, convincing, plain evidence of God's work done in Jesus' name, and his restored condition standing beside them strengthened their testimony. That plain evidence left the rulers and authorities unable to deny what had happened, unable to refute it, and unable to deny or answer against the testimony.
The rulers had no objection to make because the man had truly been healed through power given to the apostles in the name of the crucified Jesus. They wanted to cover up the miracle with falsehoods, but the healing had been done in the full light of day before a crowd of people and was already known to thousands, so denial was useless. They concluded the work had to be stopped at once, or Jesus would gain many believers, their own disgrace would follow, and they would be held guilty of the murder of the Son of God. The disciples' preaching had such power and its evidence was so clear that their opponents were restrained from acting against the disciples as they otherwise would have.
Christ called unlearned fishermen and gave them such knowledge and wisdom that their adversaries could not gainsay or resist or say anything against their words, and with the healed man standing with them the authorities were unable to answer their testimony. The witness of those so taught by Christ spread to the ends of the earth and to the uttermost parts of the world. God himself qualifies his workers to labor in his moral vineyard, so long advanced human preparation that keeps talent, time, and means out of the field while the world is perishing for knowledge is unnecessary and selfish. Present workers are therefore to go at once to impart what they have received instead of spending years in pursuit of education.
This verse belongs to the apostles' Spirit-empowered witness, in which their words and works testified to Jesus with boldness despite opposition from those who had rejected him. The man was one who had been crippled from birth, and his visible recovery and presence with the apostles made the miracle an undeniable public witness. He stood with Peter and John before the council and before the Sanhedrin as visible, convincing, plain evidence of God's work done in Jesus' name, and his restored condition standing beside them strengthened their testimony. That plain evidence left the rulers and authorities unable to deny what had happened, unable to refute it, and unable to deny or answer against the testimony.
The rulers had no objection to make because the man had truly been healed through power given to the apostles in the name of the crucified Jesus. They wanted to cover up the miracle with falsehoods, but the healing had been done in the full light of day before a crowd of people and was already known to thousands, so denial was useless. They concluded the work had to be stopped at once, or Jesus would gain many believers, their own disgrace would follow, and they would be held guilty of the murder of the Son of God. The disciples' preaching had such power and its evidence was so clear that their opponents were restrained from acting against the disciples as they otherwise would have.
Christ called unlearned fishermen and gave them such knowledge and wisdom that their adversaries could not gainsay or resist or say anything against their words, and with the healed man standing with them the authorities were unable to answer their testimony. The witness of those so taught by Christ spread to the ends of the earth and to the uttermost parts of the world. God himself qualifies his workers to labor in his moral vineyard, so long advanced human preparation that keeps talent, time, and means out of the field while the world is perishing for knowledge is unnecessary and selfish. Present workers are therefore to go at once to impart what they have received instead of spending years in pursuit of education.