Although the Priests and the Sadducees did for the time put a stop to Peter's discourse, they could not undo the effect which it produced; for we read, "Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand." The next day Peter and John were taken before the Sanhedrim, where Annas, the High Priest, and Caiaphas, with many others, were assembled. "And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?" Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, immediately told the members of the Council, that the lame man was healed solely and entirely by the name or power of the very Jesus of Nazareth, Whom they had crucified, Whom God had raised again from the dead. And further he told them, that Jesus, Whom they had rejected, was the corner stone as it were, the foundation of Christ's Church; and that none who would not believe in Him The boldness of the Apostles in thus speaking, greatly astonished their hearers; especially as they "perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men." Unlearned and ignorant according to the ideas of the world, but full of the best knowledge and wisdom; for by the Holy Spirit, they had been taught those things which make men wise unto salvation. All the learning in the world, although very useful and desirable, will be of no value in the day of death; but the wisdom which is from above, will then prove an inestimable treasure. Many who are ignorant of everything but what the Bible teaches them, will then be found more truly wise, than those who have spent their lives in acquiring knowledge, without searching the Scriptures. The Priests and elders might well marvel; they knew the Apostles to be unlearned fishermen, and they despised them as being Galileans; "and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it." They saw that Peter and John were two of those who had always followed Jesus whilst He was on earth, and now it was certain that they had worked a great miracle: they could not deny this, for there, by the side of the two Apostles, stood the very man whom they had healed: a man well known to all at Jerusalem, as having never been able to stand upon his feet since he was born. The Priests and elders could not say the man was not healed; and therefore, as they were determined not to acknowledge the power of Jesus, they were in difficulty as to what they could do to the Apostles. "But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them, is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it. But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name." It is sad to hear of rulers who were only anxious to prevent the people from believing in the truth! How truly did they bring upon themselves the sentence pronounced by our Lord, when he said, "Woe unto you lawyers, for ye have taken away Having made up their minds what to do, the members of the Council sent again for the Apostles: "And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." The Jews, who professed to obey the Law given to Moses by God, could not possibly say that it was right to obey man rather than God; and the sudden and complete cure of this man, who was above forty years old, had given such a proof that the Apostles acted under the immediate direction of the Almighty, that the Priests knew not what to say or do. "So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done. And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the Chief Priests and elders had said unto them." And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God, and praised Him Who had done such great things, and had accomplished every word that David and the prophets had spoken concerning the Messiah, the holy child Jesus, against whom "both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done." And then the disciples prayed the Lord to grant them grace to speak the truth boldly, undismayed by the fear of man; and to continue those signs and wonders, which proved them to be acting by his special direction. They were comforted and encouraged by an immediate answer to their prayers: for "when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. And with great power gave the Apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all." They had well and fearlessly used the grace already given to them, and therefore the Lord increased the gift, and strengthened them still further for their work. "And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart At this time the Church of Christ, that is, the company of believers, was joined by a man who afterwards took a great share in the work of the Apostles: we read, "And Joses, who by the Apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the Apostles' feet." This Joses had either been born in the isle of Cyprus, which lies in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea, or he had lived there so long, that it was quite like his native country. As a Levite, he could never at any time have had any inheritance of land in JudÆa; but of course a Levite might buy land in foreign countries, or even in JudÆa itself, particularly now, when the distinction into tribes was almost lost. Joses had land probably in Cyprus, and being convinced that Jesus was the Messiah, he determined to join the company of believers, and devote his future life to the service of God and man, by preaching the Gospel to others. He therefore gave up all that he possessed, and was henceforth content to receive merely what was necessary for his food and raiment, like the poorest disciple. His joining them, was a great comfort and encouragement to the Apostles in their work, and they therefore surnamed him Barnabas, which means the Son of Consolation. By the name of Barnabas, he is always spoken of in Scripture. Soon after Barnabas had joined the Apostles, a fearful punishment fell upon a man named Ananias, and his wife Sapphira, who also sold some land, and then brought part of the money they had received for it, pretending that they had brought the whole. When Ananias laid "a certain part at the Apostles' feet," he acted a lie, though he did not speak one; and for the lie in his heart, Peter reproved him, reminding him that he was About three hours after the burial of Ananias, his wife Sapphira, not knowing as yet what was done, came in. What she said we are not told; but we read, "And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much?" Her answer was a lie, for "she said, Yea, for so much;" not, however, stating how much more they had received for the land. "Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things." Well might fear come upon all who heard of these two, struck dead in their sin! Let us also fear, lest we likewise fall into the same condemnation; for though liars may not now be struck dead with the lie on their lips, we know that the Devil is the father of lies, and that "all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, prepared for the Devil and his angels." When we read such awful words, let us remember that we may be guilty in the sight of God, without telling a direct falsehood. All deceit and hypocrisy; holding our tongues when we ought to speak the truth; and telling part of the truth; are as displeasing in the sight of God as direct lies. We must speak and do the truth from our hearts; never attempting in any way to deceive others, or even to allow them to believe what we know is not true. The Apostles, in spite of the threats of the Sanhedrim, continued to preach to the people in Solomon's porch, doing many signs and wonders among the people, who "magnified," or thought much of them; "and of the rest durst no man join himself to them." After such a warning as that given in the case of Ananias and Sapphira, no one who was not really and truly willing to devote himself entirely to the service of God, would dare to pretend to do so. |