Acts 4:1-22
Standing up for truth will eventually put us in conflict with the world. Remember that until this time they had favor with all the people (Acts 2:47). When Satan begins losing ground, he will inspire those who don’t know the Lord to feel threatened by Jesus’ followers. You can’t explain this in any natural way. Peter had said the rulers did it in ignorance (Acts 3:17). He wasn’t blaming them or asking for action against them. He put the blame on us all. The response wasn’t to want attack the priests, it was to repent and acknowledge Jesus as Lord. The followers of Jesus were still worshiping in the temple and most likely tithing and following all Jewish customs, so why the anger? It is spiritual in nature, and the same is true around the world today. Why do some think that they need to kill Christians? Christians obey the laws, are kind and generous, and want to help those in need. Why does our culture look down on Christians as ignorant and harmful to society? Christian scientists started nearly every branch of science. We are the ones that start hospitals and began universities. We are there to help when natural disasters hit. We are the ones who feed and clothe the poor, so why all the animosity towards us? It is a spiritual war!Another reason for the question is that the rulers were hoping that Peter and John would be too intimidated to answer. After all, Peter had lied about knowing Jesus three times, I’m sure the rulers thought that he would be easy to intimidate. If they didn’t believe in this Jesus enough to risk themselves in front of those in power, the rulers would be able to denigrate this Jesus and those that believed in him.