Acts 3:12-13 NIV
[12] When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? [13] The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go.
The Peter we see in the book of Acts is a different Peter than the one we see at the end of the synoptic gospels. He is bold, strong, and courageous. Something happened to him.
Jesus had told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high, and we see that happening in Acts chapter 2. Right after they were filled with the Holy Spirit, they spoke in different tongues and this stirred up a crowd who wondered what was happening. Some thought that they were drunk and Peter, the very same one who had denied Jesus three times, takes the opportunity to preach. This was an unplanned crusade, Peter had no time to prepare a sermon, he just spoke from his heart. I believe the Holy Spirit guided him on what to say and by the time he was done, 3000 people got saved. It makes you wonder how big the crowd was. Remember, Jesus had said he would make his disciples fishers of men? Well, here is Peter with another great miraculous catch, only that this time it’s not fish but men.
This is an empowered Peter, one functioning under the power of the Holy Spirit. The healing of the man at the gate called beautiful got Peter and John in trouble, but their response is what amazes me.
Acts 4:13 NIV
[13] 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.
This was a different Peter in deed that he would stand before the Sanhedrin with such boldness to even preach to them with no fear. The Sanhedrin recognized that Peter and John were just ordinary unschooled men who had been with Jesus.
May the same be said of you and me, that though we are ordinary men, may we walk in the anointing of the Holy Spirit because we have been with Jesus.
Reflections.
What is the one thing you would love to do for God?
What is keeping you from doing it?
Have you been empowered by the Holy Spirit as the disciples were in Acts 2?
