Outstanding Miracle

Acts 4:13-17 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished, and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. 15 So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 16 “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it. 17 But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”
 
THE Spirit came into Jerusalem through John and Peter to heal a crippled man. The LORD gave a very public demonstration of his power to the Jews in the temple court. The ruling Jews were aware everybody living in Jerusalem knew the apostles had done an outstanding miracle. Surely this was time to celebrate the Lord’s arrival: Psalms 24:7 Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. The King of glory had come in to demonstrate his strength to heal the broken. But instead of proclaiming God’s glory, why did the authorities warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name?
   Perhaps God’s power frightened them. Speaking the one name, “Jesus”, the apostles changed a man’s life. Did God’s evident presence cause the Pharisees and Sadducees to fear his holy presence?
   Do you fear God’s presence? Consider how you respond to God if you see him as merely an observing bystander. And then think of your response to God if you believe he is actively present and near to you. Does your level of fear, honor and worship increase if he is near?
   The Jews may have been afraid God was too close to them. In our sin, we become very uncomfortable with God’s presence to the point we will deny he is involved in our lives. Even when we see evidence of his work and hear testimonies of God’s wonderful miracles, our minds may prefer to dismiss his authority. After all, if he is truly present, we need to be true to him, to repent and to worship him. We may not be ready to do that. Apparently the ruling Jews had no desire to submit their lives to the King of glory.
    Here is another moment when the men who knew the Scriptures more than anyone had an opportunity to receive the Lord’s very personal glory in his holy temple. How marvelous and good it would have been if the Jews had erupted into such praise and thanksgiving as sung in Psalms 138:5 May they sing of the ways of the Lord, for the glory of the Lord is great. How many wonders would the Spirit had done in the temple that day if the leaders had joyfully received God’s outstanding miracle of eternal life!
   Do you welcome God’s presence? Do you receive his power and glory? Do you praise him?