Acts 4:14 And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.
Your Greatest Power
We’ve heard a lot of arguments this year, haven’t we? We have seen a lot of argument and counterargument on a national stage in the debates for the Presidency of the United States. All of us are convinced of certain things, and most of us are trying to convince others of those things. But what do you do when there are counter-arguments to every argument you make?
In the book of Acts we find the followers of Christ proving, citing, challenging, and arguing, and it is certainly important for us to know the facts of the gospel when we are trying to convince people of its power. But I want to remind you that your testimony, God’s presence in your own story, is your greatest power. Acts 3 and 4 remind us of that in three related but definite examples.
One example is that a dead Man was alive. Jesus had risen from the dead. In Acts 3:26-4:1 the followers of Christ said, “Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities. And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them.” Well, the Sadducees in particular did not want to hear this because they denied the resurrection. The problem was that there was no way they could argue against these men because they had witnessed the resurrected Christ.
Later on, verse 8 says, “And Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them…” What follows is a clear summation of the gospel. Verse 13 says, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.” Unlearned fishermen who had not gone to rabbinical school spoke with power because they had been with a living person, Jesus. Again, your testimony, God’s presence in your story, is your greatest power.
The opportunity for these disciples to give the gospel in the first place was a lame man who now could walk. Verse 14 says, “And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.” They could not deny that the power of Jesus could heal a man, because here he was standing right in front of them.
How could someone argue with Jesus, crucified but living, fisherman, uneducated and yet speaking with power, and a lame man who wasn’t lame any more. Nothing can take the place of the power of God through a life that is changed by the risen Jesus.