Luke the physician wrote how Peter spoke to the people who gathered together after lame man at the temple was healed, and many “which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand. And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, and Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have you done this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, You rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole. Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him does this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. 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. And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it”, and in chapter four and verse fifteen of the book of Acts Luke shared how the religious leaders, “commanded them to go aside out of the council” where we read:
But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves,
The verse begins, “But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, ...” Luke began with the words, “but when” which means “moreover at the time and moment” “they had commanded them to go aside” which means “the religious rulers ordered Peter and John to depart and leave” “out of the council” or “away and apart from the assembly of religious rulers or Sanhedrin who were the great council at Jerusalem consisting of seventy one members of scribes, elders, prominent members of the high priestly families and the high priest” the following occurred. Luke shared how the “assembly” of “religious leaders” or “Sanhedrin” ordered Peter and John to depart from them while they did the following.
The verse goes on to say, “... they conferred among themselves, ...” Luke continued with the words, “they conferred” or “the religious leaders in the Sanhedrin conversed, met and encountered to dispute and consider what to do” “among themselves” which means “with one another, reciprocally and mutually”. Luke shared how the “religious assembly” began to converse with one another after Peter and John were apart from them.
When we think through Luke's words in this verse, we learn how this “assembly of religious leaders” or “Sanhedrin” began to speak to one another about what they should do after Peter and John were ordered to leave their presence. We shall see that Peter and John were not totally released at this point, but they were no longer a part of the discussion with the leaders. Peter and John were experiencing the first of what would be many persecutive acts performed upon them because they spoke in Jesus' name. There is a cost for being a “witness” of Jesus Christ, and many, like most of the disciples, paid an ultimate price for being one. We must remember that God the Heavenly Father was watching over all these things, and though it appeared to be great trouble and difficulty for Peter and John, He was using this event to spread the word of the “gospel”. God loves people, and His desire is to have everyone to relate to Him through His Son Jesus. Jesus is the only name by which a person may be saved, and those who are wise will yield their lives to Him regardless of the persecution they endure for believing.
Next time Luke shares how the religious leaders ask, “what shall we do with these men?”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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