4:5 And it came to
pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, 6 as well as
Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of
the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. 7 And when
they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power or by what name have
you done this?”
There is a reason why throughout history religion has held so
much power. Secular governments can only touch our lives in this world but
religion lays claim to the favour of God and in most cases to our eternal
destiny. That's a much broader sweep of power than mere government has. The
more people become enslaved to religion the more power its leaders have. Such
was the case in Jerusalem. Religion was not part of Jewish life, it was their
lives. Everything revolved around it. The Temple was the center of the entire
nation. Those who ran the Temple and anything associated with their faith held
the power.
When Jesus came on the scene the power of the religious
leaders began to crumble. The Sadducees had been teaching that there was no
life after death yet Jesus raised the dead and then walked out of the tomb
Himself. The priests and scribes taught rigid rules that were to be followed
strictly yet Jesus ignored many of them. The religious leaders laid claim to
tradition and centuries of rabbinical teachings to back their authority. Jesus
walked on water and fed thousands with a single lunch. He based His authority
on the simple and plain writings of Scripture.
The rulers and priests had no answers for Jesus even though
they tried everything to trick Him and get Him to embarrass Himself publicly on
some religious technicality like paying taxes to Caesar. Finally they had but
one move left. In order to preserve their hold on the people Jesus had to die.
What they did not count on was what followed. First He didn't
stay dead. That was bad enough. Worse was that His followers became emboldened
by His resurrection. First they began preaching in the streets about Him and
now they are doing miracles just like He had done. What would the people do if
this continued and the death of the long awaited Messiah was pinned (and
rightfully so) on them?
These men must be stopped.
So they arrested Peter and John, let them spend the night in
jail but the next day something odd happened. All the "who's who" of
the Jewish leaders came together and asked just one question: "By what
power or by what name have you done all this?"
It's odd because the question gives away the fact they
already know the answer and everyone knows they know the answer anyway. When we
continue tomorrow we'll see that it gets even more bizarre. Just the fact that two simple fishermen have grabbed the
attention of every significant Jewish leader in Jerusalem should tell us
something. They are feeling the pressure and have no idea what to do about it.
When you stand with Jesus you don't need any clout behind
you. When you stand against Him all the clout in the world is not nearly
enough...
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