“But Peter and John answered them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard’ ” (Acts 4:19-20)

A customs officer observes a truck pulling up at the border. Suspicious, he orders the driver out and searches the vehicle. He pulls off the panels, bumpers, and wheel cases but finds not a single scrap of contraband, whereupon, still suspicious but at a loss to know where else to search, he waves the driver through. The next week, the same driver arrives. Again the official searches and again finds nothing illicit. Over the years, the official tries full-body searches, X rays, and sonar, anything he can think of, and each week the same man drives up, but no mysterious cargo ever appears, and each time, reluctantly, the customs man waves the driver on.

Finally, after many years, the officer is about to retire. The driver pulls up. “I know you’re a smuggler,” the customs officer says. “Don’t bother denying it. But [darned] if I can figure out what you’ve been smuggling all these years. I’m leaving now. I swear to you I can do you no harm. Won’t you please tell me what you’ve been smuggling?”

“Trucks,” the driver says.

Sometimes we are so smart that we miss the obvious answer right in front of us. That’s what happened to Sanhedrin in Acts 4. Peter and John had just healed a lame man in the name of Jesus Christ. Peter and John had not broken any law, but the religious leaders were alarmed. The power to heal was being credited to a man the Sanhedrin thought was dead and gone. In other words, if Peter and John were right, the Sanhedrin was wrong.

Thus, they summoned Peter and John to an impromptu court proceeding. 

Imagine the scene: The seventy-two member Sanhedrin sat on their raised platform, seated according to party and rank in a semi-circle. This is the same courtroom where Jesus Christ was interrogated and condemned.

Luke records the names of the men with the repeated use of the Greek word “kai,” which means “and.” In other words, he emphasizes each and every person—as if to say, “You won’t believe who was there to interrogate Peter and John! They were the rulers and all the elders and each and every scribe.”

Talk about intimidation! Peter and John were out of their league. There they stood before wealthy, powerful men in fine robes, who were articulate experts and seminary doctorates. And Peter and John were poorly dressed, callused, rough speaking, nobodies. They were the little guys taking on the corporate giants. But sometimes the little guy wins!

If there was ever a moment when Peter and John could have gulped hard and wondered, “What did we get ourselves into?”—it would be this moment. And then the questions started:

As you read the account of the “trial” in Acts 4, it becomes clear quickly that this courtroom has no interest in discovering the truth. They wanted to suppress the truth. Thus, their ruling: “We order you to never speak His name again.” In other words, “We don’t want to argue about it; we don’t want to weigh the evidence! We just want you to be quiet about it. “Under penalty of death, stop saying what you are saying?” 

This is the tactic of OUR culture, too. Don’t say what you are saying, or, you’ll get fired, or shamed, or boycotted, or even arrested.

That strategy might be sufficient to close the mouths of many people, but look at Peter and John’s response: Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:18-20)

There is so much boldness and courage in that statement. That kind of boldness takes CONVICTION—the absolute belief in what you are standing on. That’s what we need, too. 

To live with that kind of boldness, there are some convictions you will need to embrace:

1. ‍You need to have the conviction that Jesus Christ has come back to life. Peter and John were convinced that Jesus Christ was alive. Instead of trying to convince people of what Jesus said, we need to first share the conviction that He is alive!
2. ‍You need to have the conviction that Jesus Christ is the only way to eternal life. If you are convinced that a person must trust Christ alone, it drives you to passionately throw out the only safe rope!
3. ‍You need to have the conviction that obedience to Jesus Christ is the only lifestyle worth living. Peter and John knew that they could be condemned to die. But if you ever hope to make a difference in your culture, His name must mean more to you than your own life. They were living for Him.

Peter and John lived all of these convictions, and despite the threats to their safety, the entire Church community was strengthened. As Billy Graham once wrote: “Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are stiffened.” 

FINAL WORD:

Football referees are unbiased, right? They would never be influenced by fans or football players, right? Well, according to a recent study, football refs are often swayed by their surroundings. Michael Lopez, a researcher and statistician at Skidmore College in New York, led a study that referees are much more likely to make calls that favor the team whose coaches and players are on the sideline closest to the potential penalty.

Lopez analyzed five years of NFL games, including 1,400 penalty calls where the action happened close to one team’s sideline or the other. One of the files he examined was whether referees called a late hit on a player. If one player is tackling another, you’re allowed to do it while the opposing player is within bounds but not if he’s out of bounds. But the bodies are usually flying into one another near a sideline. It’s what’s called a bang-bang play: it all happens so quickly, and the refs have to make a judgment call.

Lopez measured how often these kinds of judgment calls go in favor of the team whose coaches are on the sideline closest to where the potential penalty is taking place. He found referees are much more likely to make calls that comply with what people nearest to them are demanding. In short, intimidation works. Pressure the refs, get in their face, and they will often cave into social pressure.

REFLECT:

Acts 4:13 says “Now when [the Jewish leaders] saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” Consider the convictions above and the formula in Acts 4:13 for boldness, and write in your journal what must change in your life TO INCREASE YOUR BOLDNESS.