Acts 4:1-22; Exodus 34:29-35; Deuteronomy 13:2-4; Psalm 118; Isaiah 43:11, 45:21-23; Luke 20:1-17; 2 Corinthians 4:4-6; Philippians 2:5-11.
When Moses came down from receiving the Law on Mount Sinai, and whenever he spoke with God in the Tabernacle, his face shone afterwards, terrifying the Hebrew people (Ex 34:29-35). People knew without a doubt that he had been with the LORD. Speaking about Christians, St. Paul said, “God has shone in our hearts to give the light of the glory of the knowledge of God in the face of Jesus” (2 Cor 4:6). It would seem that that shining into the heart also makes its mark. For the passage that we read this week, Acts 4:1-22, features Peter and John, whom the Jewish leaders somehow recognized “had been with Jesus.” The apostles’ bold speech, their spiritual wisdom despite not being learned men, and their gospel were evident not only to the 5000 men who converted that day, but to God’s very enemies who were trying to suppress te proclamation of the gospel. We may be reminded of what happened in John 7:15 when Jesus also was preaching near the Temple, and those who heard were astounded at his wisdom, since he was a commoner. Let’s hear the whole story of Acts 4, just after Peter has addressed the crowds concerning the healing of the paralytic by John and himself near the Temple entrance:
And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they arrested them and put them in custody until the morrow, for it was already evening. But many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to about five thousand.
In the morning their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a cripple, by what means this man has been healed, be it 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 is standing before you well. This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, but which has become the head of the corner. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they wondered; and they recognized that they had been with Jesus. But seeing the man that had been healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred with one another, saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is manifest to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to any one in this name.” So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 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.” And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people; for all men praised God for what had happened. For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old. (Acts 4:1-22)
This passage contains one very explicit reference to the Old Testament, and a few echoes, all of which cast light on the story. The clearest reference is from Psalm 117 LXX/118:22: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” St. Peter personalizes the verse by saying to the leaders challenging him, “This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, but which has become the head of the corner.” In making this direct application to the Jewish authorities, he makes explicit what Jesus had implicitly said during his earlier run-in with them in Luke 20:1-17, when he told the parable of the vineyard. In fact, it would seem that Luke wants us to see the parallels between Jesus’ preaching in Luke and Peter’s words here. After all, he has written both stories, highlighting the question of the leaders to first Jesus, then Peter, “by whose authority, or power, or name are you doing this?” Also, Jesus’ parable about the vineyard closes with the same reference that Peter makes to the rejected stone that became the corner. In Jesus’ confrontation, he looks directly at them; Peter actually calls them out, saying “you.” Both challenges, though, are not simple indictments, but could possibly turn some of the leaders to the truth. We know, for example, that Paul was turned.
The prophecy of the Psalm, Jesus’ citation of it at the end of his parable, and Peter’s similar words all point to the truth that God’s plans and human perception are often not in sync. After all, some of God’s own people had killed the One whom God raised! The One whom they rejected as worthless is the One who is the center of it all. There is a blindness, a deafness, and a hardness of heart that God hopes to heal, if only these men will listen.
Peter and John hold fast during their interrogation. They have been prepared by Jesus for just such an event, when He told them not to worry about what to say when dragged into court. Though they are threatened and there is an attempt to silence them, they know by whose authority they are proclaiming the gospel. God has “made the fishermen most wise,” as we sing at Pentecost! And so they speak even to these antagonistic leaders about Jesus, the only Source of salvation in heaven and on earth: “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Their bold remarks echo the strong words of the prophet Isaiah, who articulates the LORD’s own claim to be the only God, the only Savior, who should be obeyed above all others:
“I, I am the LORD [the Existing One], and besides me there is no savior” (Isaiah 43:11)
“Declare and present your case . . . [T]here is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me. Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, from my mouth has gone forth in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.’ (Isaiah 45:21-23)
In reading the prophet, the casual reader might think only of God the Father. But we know that the I AM is God the Word, the Son, who always acts in harmony with the Father, and we know from St. Paul that JESUS it the name to which every knee should bow (Philippians 2:5-11) Peter and John, in speaking this way about there only being One who saves, are implying not only that Jesus is the Messiah, but the creating God of all, the LORD, the I AM, who reigns together with His Father, and the Holy Spirit, by whom this miracle has been made possible. The leaders may not catch this—they are angry enough even to hear that He is the Messiah—but we Christians do, as we read carefully.
Then the disciples go on to ask a cheeky question: “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you [leaders] rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” They cannot help but speak of it, because it is God’s word that they are handling. They are like the prophet Jeremiah, with God’s message burning inside them: “If I say, ‘I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,’ there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot” (Jer 10:19). Besides this, they have learned well from Hebrew history, and from the Psalms, that God must be listened to and glorified, not human leaders, especially not human leaders that are rejecting God. Jesus had instructed them to proclaim the gospel, and must be obeyed. The very same Psalm that speaks of the stumbling stone also reminds us: “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes” (Psalm 118:8–9). No doubt, they remembered the midwives who disobeyed Pharoah and saved the babies, along with Moses; they remembered the youths who ended up singing in the fire because they refused to obey the Gentile despot and worship an idol; they took to heart God’s words not to listen even to false prophets who are contradicting God’s word (Deut 13:2-4). And they had the encouraging words of Isaiah, yet again: “I, even I, the Existing One who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mere mortals, human beings who are but grass…?” (Is 51:12).
Peter and James eave their reverent legacy with us when we sing, every Liturgy, “Put not your trust in princes, in sons of men, in whom there is no salvation.” These apostles, though common men, had performed a sign in front of all the people, with 5000 men added to the Church that day, just as Jesus had fed 5000 men (not counting the women and children). And then they had preached to the crowd not just about healing, but about the resurrection from the dead. As our father St. John Chrysostom explains, “[The Jewish leaders] were annoyed, not only because the apostles were teaching, but because they declared that not only was Jesus Christ himself risen from the dead but that through him we too rise again. . . . So powerful was his resurrection that he is the cause of resurrection for others as well” (Hom Acts Apostles 10; NPNF 1 11:63). Because of the sure mercies of Jesus (through His Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension) and because of the power of Pentecost, they remained unterrified by the leaders. And this boldness in itself was a sign. As the old English theologian the Venerable Bede reminds us, when God uses the uneducated, mere fishermen, like this, that in itself shows God’s glory:
Unlettered men were sent to preach, so that the faith of those who believed would not be thought to have come about by eloquence and teaching instead of by God’s power. As the apostle says, “not in the wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ be made void.”(Bede, Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles 4.13; CS 117:50.)
They are bold, but in no way arrogant. For their boldness is in Christ, not in their own wisdom or power. And so, says our father St. John the Golden-mouthed, “Read the book of the Acts of the Apostles and you will see how often, these men imitating the dove and answering with suitable meekness, [and how by doing so they] released [the wrath of the Jewish leaders], quenched their madness and dissolved their impetuosity. (Hom Mat 33; NPNF 1 10:221).
They have indeed learned from the Master Himself, the One who is the Word, but who knew also when not to open His mouth, and when to be led like a sheep to the slaughter. John and Peter will not be led to physical deprivation or suffering at this time, though John’s hour of exile will come, and Peter will die a death like that of Jesus. For now, they have a message to proclaim, and this is all-consuming for them. The LORD is the stone that is rejected, but it is on this Cornerstone that the whole edifice of the Church will be erected. Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, joins together Jews and Gentiles into a single body— that is the story of the Acts; that is the greatest sign of harmony that anyone could imagine. May the example of Peter and John, their focus upon Jesus and His Name, their straightforward witness, their courage, and their compassion for enemies, guide us in our lives, for God is not yet finished with His world. May those who see and hear us also know that we have been with Jesus.
Edith M. Humphrey 