Acts 4:1-12 NKJV
The religious leaders are disturbed/threatened by Peter and John teaching and ministering in the name of Jesus and bringing the miracle of healing and the gift of salvation, which brings freedom from sin and the burdens that religion cannot remove.
If people are set free in their spirit and moral conscience, they won’t be trapped by the guilt trip of religion and the idea that giving alms to the poor and needy, or going to temple and giving their titles and offerings, will somehow earn them favor with God.
Acts 4:1-12
[1] Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, [2] being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
[3] And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. [4] However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
[5] And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, [6] as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. [7] And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?” [8] Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: [9] If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, [10] let it be 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 stands here before you whole.
[11] This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’
Who are the “builders”?
Builders of the temple, the religious leaders and laborers. Jesus is the Chief Cornerstone of the temple not made with hands.
The religious Jews and temple laborers marveled at the beauty of the temple made with hands. It wasn’t built on the truth of God’s word, but out of religious works, motivated by the idea they can earn favor with God through good works.
Many people today, think they are doing God great service by building beautiful, expensive structures and filling them with programs and services; all of this without the Holy Spirit.
Peter and John, filled with the Spirit, speak boldly in the name of Jesus which brings about the miraculous healing of a crippled beggar, lame since birth, along with salvation for all who believe in His name.
Objections, offense and threats to the religious establishment which is connected to the government.
Today, there is still state established religion in many parts of the world, through which governments and regimes control both the people, and the flow of money; keeping people focusing on religion and good works.
The once lame beggar was a source of income for the religious establishment. They would carry him to the temple gate; the beautiful gate. This is where the wealthy, renowned Jews and religious people would enter the temple. The lame beggar would beg for alms (money). The religious establishment used his deformity to their advantage. Now that this man was healed, the recipient of a miracle, which they could not deny, they were presented with the same choice that about 5,000 men made, to repent of their sins and believe in the name of of Jesus Christ and be saved and healed. Instead they rejected the “Chief Cornerstone” in God’s holy foundation.
It’s not the building (temple) made with hands, that is holy, sanctified, and set apart, it’s the ones who repent and believe in the name of Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God . They are the ones who accept Christ as their Chief Cornerstone, whom Christ builds His church upon; a foundation of faith.
The solid foundation, built on the solid Rock, which stands in the fiercest of storms and tempests without tumbling or wavering.
Religious traditions and customs are built on sand with no foundation, and when the winds and storms of life come, there’s nothing stable or solid to hang onto.
This is what Jesus came to give us, and this is what Peter and John, filled with the Spirit, brought to the people. Preaching, teaching, and ministering, filled with Spirit; in the name of Jesus invokes divine healing.
Faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains, and the hearts of men who are convicted and repentant.
It’s not about going along with the crowd, but being individually convicted, repenting, and believing in the name of Jesus. It’s about who is the Chief Cornerstone of your heart. Who or what is your faith built upon?
[12] Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
https://bible.com/bible/114/act.4.1-12.NKJV
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