Cornerstone

A Healing Occurs

By what power did you do this? When people ask this question they are making a reveling statement and that is, “by some power greater than us, this has happened” Do you agree?

Notice in the answering of the question Luke, the author of Acts, states that Peter was filled by the Holy Spirit . In other words Peter held nothing back and he spoke with authority, not of his own words.

Pastors are always being examined for what they do and what they say, and we should be, but think about things first and examine your intentions. This past weekend I was rebuked for things I said during a devotion that I was doing at the Emmaus Walk. It hurt me because it was by another pastor who I have great respect for. I won’t go into the details but both he and I were correct in what we said but he was reacting to what I said as a personal struggle and not a biblical correction. I was deeply wounded by his words.

These disciples are doing what God called them to do through Jesus Christ, but the world around them are judging their actions and claiming that they are working through the evil one. Now that was not mentioned in the text but it should be implied because the root of the issue is that they do not believe that Christ Jesus was the savior, and if that is so, they are implying that the disciples are working under the higher power of something else.

Often times when we do not agree with the message we feel that it is from a false prophet. It is okay to examine the message; in this passage the high priest and leaders of the church are protesting the healings.

This passage is important on many levels; one is that it was not the world that did not recognize the savior, more importantly it was the established church that did not recognize the savior. Ask yourself, why didn’t Jesus call the organized church leaders to be his disciples? Perhaps they were not good for the church?

The disciples were called by Jesus to do the things that they were doing. The leaders of the church were busy trying to dispute the things they were doing because---the miracle healings were undercutting their authority. The people followed them and praised them for the status they had gotten through the church and yet it was these fishermen that were healing people. the only recourse for the religious leaders was to claim that it was something other than God.

Peter says then let it be known that the one whom you crucified, Jesus of Nazareth, is who we serve, and by him does this man stand today. In other words you killed the man who we serve. What a deep cut this must have been for the religious leaders. They thought they had stopped this movement with the very crucifixion Peter mentions and yet they claim it was this man who heals.

It is not your leaders who decide who we believe in.

(NRSV)

11 This Jesus is

‘the stone that was rejected by you, the builders;

it has become the cornerstone.’

(NRSV)

12 There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.”