Acts 4:5-12 (NRSV)
Read Acts 4:5-12 on biblegateway.com
Verse 5The next day their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem, Verse 6with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. Verse 7When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, "By what power or by what name did you do this?" Verse 8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders, Verse 9if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, Verse 10let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. Verse 11This Jesus is 'the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.' Verse 12There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved."
Devotion
What gives you confidence? For most of us, what we are most sure of is what we have seen with our eyes and touched with our hands. Peter and John stood before the rulers of their day, confident of one thing: that Jesus Christ, who was crucified, was alive and at work in them. They had seen him, they had touched him and, even though Jesus had ascended, they knew the power of the presence of the Holy Spirit in them.
How about us? We haven’t seen or touched Jesus, yet because of the witness of these men and thousands of people throughout history, we can be just as confident that Jesus is risen and that the Holy Spirit is working as powerfully today as in the apostles’ day. Jesus still is that name above all names and still is the only name under heaven by which we must be saved.
Prayer
Lord, I pray today that I may have the same confidence that Peter and John had in Jesus. Help me sense your presence, know your power and receive your grace and healing, in Jesus’ name. Amen.