Pentecost, Day(s) After
FASCINATE MY SPIRIT #362
Title: ”Pentecost, Day(s) After”
Scripture: Acts 2:41 - 4:37
Date: June 6, 2022
Those who believed the word that day numbered three thousand. They were all baptized and added to the church.
The Community of Believers
Every believer was faithfully devoted to following the teachings of the apostles. Their hearts were mutually linked to one another, sharing communion and coming together regularly for prayer. A deep sense of holy awe swept over everyone, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. All the believers were in fellowship as one body, and they shared with one another whatever they had. Out of generosity they even sold their assets to distribute the proceeds to those who were in need among them. Daily they met together in the temple courts and in one another’s homes to celebrate communion. They shared meals together with joyful hearts and tender humility. They were continually filled with praises to God, enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord kept adding to their number daily those who were coming to life.
Healing at the Beautiful Gate
One afternoon Peter and John went to the temple for the three o’clock prayer. As they came to the entrance called the Beautiful Gate, they were captured by the sight of a man crippled from birth being carried and placed at the entrance to the temple. He was often brought there to beg for money from those going in to worship. When he noticed Peter and John going into the temple, he begged them for money.
Peter and John, looking straight into the eyes of the crippled man, said, “Look at us!” Expecting a gift, he readily gave them his attention. Then Peter said, “I don’t have money, but I’ll give you this—by the power of the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk!”
Peter held out his right hand to the crippled man. As he pulled the man to his feet, suddenly power surged into his crippled feet and ankles. The man jumped up, stood there for a moment stunned, and then began to walk around! As he went into the temple courts with Peter and John, he leapt for joy and shouted praises to God.
When all the people saw him jumping up and down and heard him glorifying God, they realized it was the crippled beggar they had passed by in front of the Beautiful Gate. Astonishment swept over the crowd, for they were amazed over what had happened to him.
Peter Preaches to the Crowd
Dumbfounded over what they were witnessing, the crowd ran over to Peter and John, who were standing under the covered walkway called Solomon’s Porch. Standing there also was the healed beggar, clinging to Peter and John.
With the crowd surrounding him, Peter said to them all, “People of Israel, listen to me! Why are you so amazed by this healing? Why do you stare at us? We didn’t make this crippled man walk by our own power or authority. The God of our ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has done this. For he has glorified his Servant Jesus, the one you denied to Pilate’s face when he decided to release him—and you insisted that he be crucified. You rejected the one who is holy and righteous, and instead begged for a murderer to be released. You killed the Prince of Life! But God raised him from the dead, and we stand here as witnesses to that fact. Faith in Jesus’ name has healed this man standing before you. It is the faith that comes through believing in Jesus’ name that has made the crippled man walk right in front of your eyes!
“My fellow Jews, I realize that neither you nor your leaders realize the grave mistake you made. But in spite of what you’ve done, God has fulfilled what he foretold through the prophets long ago about the sufferings of his Anointed One. And now you must repent and turn back to God so that your sins will be removed, and so that times of refreshing will stream from the Lord’s presence. And he will send you Jesus, the Messiah, the appointed one. For he must remain in heaven until the restoration of all things has taken place, fulfilling everything that God said long ago through his holy prophets. For has not Moses told us:
‘The Lord your God will raise up
a prophet from among you who is like me.
Listen to him and follow everything he tells you.
Every person who disobeys that prophet
will be cut off and completely destroyed.’
“In fact, every prophet from the time of Samuel onward has prophesied of these very days! And you are heirs of their prophecies and of the covenants God made with your fathers when he promised Abraham, ‘Your descendant will bring blessing to all the people on the earth.’
“Now that God raised up his Son, he has chosen to send him first to you that he might bless you by turning each one of you from your wickedness.”
Peter and John Arrested
The teaching and preaching of Peter and John angered the priests, the captain of the temple police, and representatives of the Jewish sect of the Sadducees. They were furious that the people were being taught that in Jesus there is a resurrection from the dead. So while Peter and John were still speaking, the Jewish authorities came to the temple courts to oppose them. They had them arrested, and since it was already evening they kept them in custody until the next day. Yet there were many in the crowd who believed the message, bringing the total number of men who believed to nearly five thousand!
The next day many Jewish leaders, religious scholars, and elders of the people convened a meeting in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest was there with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and others who were members of the high priest’s family. They made Peter and John stand in front of the council as they questioned them, saying, “Tell us, by what power and authority have you done these things?”
Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, answered, “Respected elders and leaders of the people, listen. Are we being put on trial today for doing an act of kindness by healing a frail, crippled man? Well then, you and everyone else in Israel should know that it is by the power of the name of Jesus that the crippled man stands here today completely healed! You crucified Jesus Christ of Nazareth, but God raised him from the dead. This Jesus is ‘the stone that you, the builders, have rejected, and now he has become the cornerstone!’ There is no one else who has the power to save us, for there is only one name to whom God has given authority by which we must experience salvation: the name of Jesus.”
The council members were astonished as they witnessed the bold courage of Peter and John, especially when they discovered that they were just ordinary men who had never had religious training. Then they began to understand the effect Jesus had on them simply by spending time with him. Standing there with them was the healed man, and there was nothing further they could say.
So they ordered them to leave the room while they discussed the matter. Among themselves, they said, “What should we do with these men? Everyone in Jerusalem can clearly see that they’ve performed a notable sign and wonder—we can’t deny that. But to keep this propaganda from spreading any further among the people, let’s threaten them severely and warn them to never speak to anyone in this name again.”
So they had them brought back in before the council, and they commanded them to never teach the people or speak again using the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “You can judge for yourselves—is it better to listen to you or to God? It’s impossible for us to stop speaking about all the things we’ve seen and heard!”
Since the members of the council couldn’t come up with a crime they could punish them for, they threatened them once more and let them go. All the people praised God, thrilled over the miraculous healing of the crippled man. And the man who received this miracle sign of healing was over forty years old.
The Church Prays
As soon as they were released from custody, Peter and John went to the other believers and explained all that had happened with the high priest and the elders. When the believers heard their report, they raised their voices in unity and prayed, “Lord Yahweh, you are the Lord of all! You created the universe—the earth, the sky, the sea, and everything that is in them. And you spoke by the Holy Spirit through your servant David, our forefather, saying:
‘How dare the nations plan a rebellion,
ranting and raging against the Lord Most High?
Their foolish plots are futile!
Look at how the kings of the earth take their stand,
with the rulers scheming and conspiring together
against God and his anointed Messiah!’
“In fact, Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with Jews and non-Jews, met together to take their stand against your holy servant, Jesus the Messiah. They did to him all that your purpose and will had determined, according to the destiny you had marked out for him. So now, Lord, listen to their threats to harm us. Empower us, as your servants, to speak the word of God freely and courageously. Stretch out your hand of power through us to heal, and to move in signs and wonders by the name of your holy Son, Jesus!”
As they prayed the earth shook beneath them, causing the building they were in to tremble. Each one of them was filled with the Holy Spirit, and they proclaimed the word of God with unrestrained boldness.
All the believers were one in mind and heart. Selfishness was not a part of their community, for they shared everything they had with one another. The apostles gave powerful testimonies about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great measures of grace rested upon them all. Some who owned houses or land sold them and brought the proceeds before the apostles to distribute to those without. Not a single person among them was needy.
For example, there was a Levite from Cyprus named Joseph, who sold his farmland and placed the proceeds at the feet of the apostles. They nicknamed him Barnabas (or “Encourager”).
- Acts 2:41 - 4:37 (The Passion Translation)