Be Still And Know

[The council of the Jews] called the apostles back in and commanded them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.” The miraculous healing of the lame man attracted great attention. This gave Peter a further opportunity to speak to the crowd. He explained that the healing had been done in the name of Jesus, pointing out that they had “killed the author of life but God raised him from the dead” (Acts 3:15). This was too much for the Jewish authorities, who were desperate to find a way to shut him up. When told to stop talking about Jesus, Peter responded by making it clear that if it was a choice between obeying the Jewish council or obeying God, he would choose the latter. It is worth stopping for a moment and reminding ourselves that this bold, confident speaker is the man who, only a few weeks before, had denied ever knowing Jesus. Peter is clearly a