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To bring you up to speed, as you remember from last week Peter and John healed a man born lame as they were entering the Temple through a gate called Beautiful. We read today that the man was over forty years old. He had probably begged since early childhood. Newly healed, the man began jumping about and praising God and running through the Temple Courtyard. A crowd gathered and they were amazed at what happened because they recognized the man. Peter then proclaimed that God had healed this man by faith in the name of Jesus, whom they, the crowd, had rejected and had had a part in crucifying but God had raised. He invited the people of the crowd to repent and turn to faith in Jesus so that times of refreshing may come upon them along with the forgiveness of sins as they await Jesus’ return. He finished the sermon by saying that in Jesus God was fulfilling all that he had promised to his people through the prophets.
The response to this sermon was spectacular. Just counting the men, 5,000 believed. But on the other hand, there were those pesky religious authority types who found it annoying…annoying – the priests, the chief of the Temple police, and those filthy rich Sadducees who didn’t believe in resurrection so they were “sad, you see”. They were so annoyed that they arrested Peter and John and probably the healed man too and put them in jail for one very uncomfortable night so that the next day there could be an inquiry before the proper authorities to see if any charges should be laid.
Well, let’s just note who those proper authorities were. There were of course the rulers, elders, and scribes. The Greek word for elder is presbyteros so there were some Presbyterians among them. Most notable were the High Priest (we’ll say emeritus) Annas who was high priest when Jesus was born and for most of Jesus’ life, and also his son-in-law Caiaphas who was the then current High Priest and (dramatic pause) he was the chief orchestrator of Jesus’ crucifixion. There was also the rest of the High Priestly family (you know, Don Jr., Eric, and Ivanka and Jared). There was so much money to be made in the big business of the Temple we should suspect/expect a bit of despotism. That means giving power and an avenue to great wealth to your family members instead of to actually qualified people. There were also a couple other men, John and Alexander, who have been lost to history, probably noted advisors (like Rudy and Kellyanne).
I don’t think I can emphasize enough that these are the people who orchestrated Jesus’ crucifixion by Pilate. This is the band of corrupt political thugs who killed Jesus that no one seems to be holding to account. And now, Peter and John, two of the most prominent leaders among the Jesus movement, stand in the midst of them to be questioned as to whether they had committed some crime for healing that man. The natural assumption here is that these above-the-law so-called authorities are just going to do to Peter and John what they did to Jesus. I mean, isn’t that the way this world works?
The inquiry began with the rump authorities asking a question that if Peter and John answer it truthfully, they would incriminate themselves as being in cahoots with Jesus whom these above-the-law so-called authorities had crucified for blasphemy against God and for treason against Rome. You see, Jesus claimed to be the Son of God as did the emperor (to Jews that was blasphemy) and Messiah or Christ which meant he was Lord and Saviour of the world just as the Roman emperor assumed himself to be Lord and Saviour of the world. Peter and John had no option to plead the 5th, as is said in the States. The question was “By what power or by what name did you do this?” These above-the-law so-called authorities already knew how Peter and John would answer that – Jesus of Nazareth. It’s a trumped-up inquiry. Remember that’s exactly what Peter had boldly proclaimed in the Temple courtyard the day before. (Acting by the power of or by the name of another is similar to what a power of attorney does today. If I appoint someone to act as my power of attorney, I give that person full authority to act on my behalf should I be unable to do so myself.) Well, if Peter and John answer “Jesus”, they’ve incriminated themselves as acting on behalf of a convicted blasphemer and treasoner.
Well, Peter, or should I say God the Holy Spirit, suddenly took charge of the inquiry and turned the tables on those above-the-law so-called religious authorities so as to strip them of any power or authority they may have had as representatives of the God of Israel. And now, finally, the conspirators who orchestrated the murder of Jesus are now on trial before God. God himself is holding them accountable.
Peter stood before them full of the Holy Spirit speaking boldly for God. That the Holy Spirit located himself in Peter is huge. It means that the presence of God no longer resided in the Holy of Holies of the Temple anymore. The presence of God now resides on earth among the followers of Jesus. That Peter was then empowered by the Spirit of God to speak for God entailed that the priests and scribes and especially the High Priest no longer had the authority to speak for God or to make judgements in matters pertaining to God and the people. It’s the followers of Jesus who now speak for God. In this moment that whole religious big business thing going on in Jerusalem at the Temple was revealed to be disenfranchised because God wasn’t there anymore. The presence of God now present among the followers of Jesus.
Well, Peter begins their defense by pointing out that this inquiry has come about because of a good deed he and John had done in healing a man born lame at the Temple in the name of Jesus. Once again, our translators fail us. It isn’t just a “good deed” that Peter and John have done as if they were Boy Scouts who had helped an elderly woman cross a road safely. It is a “God-deed” that they have done, something only God could do. God, through the faithfulness of Peter and John to Jesus, had saved this man born lame who had been a beggar for most of his over forty years of life. That was longer than the Israelites wandered in the desert. His exodus was over and now he is settling in the Promised. So, it is for the people of God. 40 years was also longer than that High Priest emeritus Annas had been serving in the Jerusalem Temple, a period of time in which Annas and his family had done nothing to help the man. They just spent their days getting rich off the spiritual dilemma of God’s people who were just trying to be faithful in seeking God’s presence and blessing. But now, it was the Jesus people who had gotten a hold of the man and helped him. In the name of Jesus in the full sight of a full Temple they restored him to perfect health. He’s no longer a shamed beggar. He’s healed, restored…saved. Everything the Temple and the priesthood were there for, God had shifted over to occur among the followers of Jesus.
Peter then, or should I say God the Holy Spirit, then holds these cronies accountable for what they did to Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. Peter says let it be known to you and to all Israel that we did this “God-deed” in the name of Jesus the Messiah from Nazareth whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. He’s the cornerstone you so called master-builders discarded, but God has made him the cornerstone of a new Temple. Jesus’ name is the only power under heaven among people by which anyone can be saved (such as what has been demonstrated in the healing of the man born lame.) He’s not saying “Jesus is your get out of Hell free card.” Peter is saying that Jesus is the way through which God will lead and transform his creation to healing and restoration from sin, evil, disease, and death and if you want to be a part of what God is doing get on board with Jesus. God will forgive.
Well, I guess we call that “Speaking truth to power” and it totally disarmed the authorities…and they knew it. The above-the-law so-called authorities saw that Peter and John were uneducated, ordinary who were speaking with boldness, which means they were speaking as free men with the authority and wisdom of a prophet of God. They saw the man standing next to Peter and John whom God restored to full health by faithfulness to Jesus. They saw that the people of God were praising God and were fully on the board with the Apostles. Their response? “Don’t speak in this name anymore or else.” That’s the best they could come up with. They suddenly found themselves lame and cut off from the things of God. They had been exposed as political bozos and religious charlatans, these High Priests and their family members who should have above all people been able to recognize who Jesus was and what God was doing in, through, and as him if they were true to their calling. God demoted them to being a crony family, rooted out of the people of God, trying to cling to a power that will wane. And it did. In 70 A.D. God let the Romans destroy Jerusalem and the Temple. While the followers of Jesus spread throughout the world in the power and presence of God the Holy Spirit doing “God-deeds” in the Name of Jesus.
Peter’s response to these deflated gaslighters says it all. “Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you or to listen to God, you must judge. But we cannot keep from talking about what we have seen and heard.” They judged. They did not punish Peter and John for fear of the people of God. It was obvious they no longer could claim to have authority from God. Fearmongering and thuggery would become the means that they would work against God and the healing/salvation God was doing all over the world through the followers of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit.
That day ended with a prayer. Peter and John went back and told the rest of the friends what had happened and they prayed for boldness to continue to speak the word of Jesus and that God would back it up with works of healing and signs and wonder and God answered in the affirmative with an earthquake. They prayed for boldness, the boldness to proclaim Jesus and the healing/salvation he brings in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Well, we, the followers of Jesus, aren’t all that bold anymore. We lost our boldness due to foolishly enjoying a position of privilege in Western culture. A position we have now lost. Christianity got too cozy with the power of empire to the extent that we began to act like those above-the-law so-called religious authorities who abused their God entrusted authority to the extent of orchestrating and carrying out persecution against the Jewish side of the family of God. All the while, poor people lay begging outside our Crystal Cathedrals.
To speak boldly is to speak truth, to speak as faithful witnesses to what God is doing in the world in the power of the Holy Spirit to demonstrate that Jesus whom he raised from the dead is Lord and Saviour of this world. How do we do that now in the wake of centuries in which the Church has used its voice to abuse? How do we speak boldly with credibility? Here’s a suggestion. Let’s get to know Jesus and go looking for him among those whom he favours, and then begin speaking with our actions.
To get to know Jesus…some of us here in the Coop have taken on the task of mulling the Sermon on the Mount by meditating on a verse of it daily. We are boldly trying to catch a glimpse of the heart and mind of Jesus so that we will be better able to sense who he is. Prayer time, Bible time is crucial.
Where to find Jesus...this week we’ve been looking at the Beatitudes which is the preamble to the Sermon on the Mount and with the Beatitudes Jesus gives us a signal of where to look to find him. We will find him among those who are poor in spirit, who are mourning, who are gentle and hungering and thirsting to know and please God, who are merciful, who are pure in heart with the singular motive to love, who strive to make peace, and who are persecuted for following Jesus and the love he embodies. Among everyday people with everyday pain trying to seek justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with their God is where we will find Jesus.
How to speak boldly with credibility…there’s a woman in my neighbourhood. She doesn’t go to church. I’ve not yet been given the opportunity to hear her faith story. No judgements on my part there. All her life she kept foster children. She presently has a couple of people living with her who can’t afford their own place. She keeps a constant eye on the elderly in the neighbourhood. She always has something good to say. She has befriended several of the children in the neighbourhood and taught them to garden. She got the older women (the single/widowed) of the neighbourhood to start getting together for wine and laughter. She has networked caring into our neighbourhood. She’s very good at helping people feel not so alone. Though she doesn’t go to church, she’s more like Jesus than this minister is. She’s bold, bold about compassion, about being a caring neighbour. Let us pray for that kind of boldness before we start spouting our mouths off again. Amen.
