fast to Peter and John, went out with them through the Beautiful Gate,
into Solomon's Porch. And in a very few minutes a great crowd of people
were drawn together to the place to see the man who had been made well,
and to see also the two men who had healed him.
Then Peter stood up before the throng of people, and spoke to them:
"Ye men of Israel," he said, "why do you look wondering on this man? or
why do you fix your eyes upon us, as though by our own power or goodness
we had made this man to walk? The God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of
Jacob, has in this way shown the power and the glory of his Son Jesus,
whom you gave up to his enemies, and whom you refused before Pontius
Pilate, when Pilate was determined to set him free. But you refused the
Holy One and the Righteous One, and chose a murderer, Barabbas, to be
set free in his place; and you killed the Prince of Life, whom God
raised from the dead. We who have seen him risen, declare that this is
true. And the power of Jesus, through faith in his name, has made this
man strong. Yes, it is faith in Christ that has given him this perfect
soundness before you all. Now, my brothers, I am sure that you did not
know that it was the Son of God and your own Saviour whom you sent to
the cross. Therefore turn to God in sorrow for this great sin, and God
will forgive you, and in his own time he will send again Jesus Christ.
God, who has raised up his Son, is ready to bless you, and turn away
every one of you from his sins."
While Peter was speaking, the priests, and the captain of the Temple,
and the rulers, came upon them; for they were angry as they heard Peter
speak these words. They laid hold of Peter and John, and put them into
the guardroom for the night. But many of those who had heard Peter
speaking believed on Jesus, and sought the Lord; and the number of the
followers of Christ rose from three thousand to five thousand.
On the next day the rulers came together; and Annas and Caiphas, the
high priests, were there, and with them many of their friends. They
brought Peter and John, and set them before the company. The lame man
who had been healed was still by the side of the two apostles. The
rulers asked them:
"By what power, or through whom have you done this?"
Then Peter spoke boldly:
"Ye rulers of the people and elders, if you are asking us about the good
deed done to this man who was so helpless, how it was that he was made
well, I will tell you that by the name of Jesus of Nazareth whom you put
to death on the cross, whom God raised from the dead; even by him this
man stands here before you all strong and well. And there is no
salvation except through Jesus Christ, for there is no other name under
heaven given among men that can save us from our sins."
When these rulers saw how bold and strong were the words of Peter and
John, they wondered, especially as they knew that they were plain men,
not learned in books, and not used to speaking. They remembered that
they had seen these men among the followers of Jesus, and they felt that
in some way Jesus had given them his power. And as the man who had been
healed was standing beside them, they could say nothing to deny that a
wonderful work had been done.
The rulers sent Peter and John out of the council-room, while they
talked together. They said to each other:
"What shall we do to these men? We cannot deny that a wonderful work has
been done by them, for every one knows it. But we must stop this from
spreading any more among the people. Let us command them not to speak to
any man about the name of Jesus; and let us tell them, that if they do
speak, we will punish them."
So they called the two apostles into the room again, and said to them:
"We forbid you to speak about Jesus, and the power of his name, to any
man. If you do not stop talking about Jesus, we will lay hands on you,
and put you in prison, and will have you beaten."
But Peter and John answered the rulers: "Whether it is right to obey
you or to obey God, you can judge. As for ourselves we cannot keep
silent; we must speak of what we have seen and heard."
The rulers were afraid to do any harm to Peter and John, because they
knew that the people praised God for the good work that they had done;
and they would be angry to have harm come to them. For fear of the
people, they let them go. And being let go, they went to their own
friends, the company who met in the upper room, and there they gave
thanks to God for helping them to speak his word without fear.
THE STORY OF STEPHEN, THE FIRST MARTYR
In the New Testament, in the book of Acts, you will learn how the
members of the church in Jerusalem gave their money freely to help the
poor. This free giving led to trouble, as the church grew so fast; for
some of the widows who were poor were passed by, and their friends made
complaints to the apostles. The twelve apostles called the whole church
together, and said:
"It is not well that we should turn aside from preaching and teaching
the word of God to sit at tables and give out money. But, brethren,
choose from among yourselves seven good men; men who have the Spirit of
God and are wise, and we will give this work to them; so that we can
spend our time in prayer and in preaching the gospel."
This plan was pleasing to all the church, and they chose seven men to
take charge of the gifts of the people, and to see that they were sent
to those who were in need. The first man chosen was Stephen, a man full
of faith and of the Spirit of God; and with him was Philip and five
other good men. These seven men they brought before the apostles; and
the apostles laid their hands on their heads, setting them apart for
their work of caring for the poor.
But Stephen did more than to look after the needy ones. He began to
preach the gospel of Christ, and to preach with such power as made every
one who heard him feel the truth. Stephen saw before any other man in
the church saw, that the gospel of Christ was not for Jews only, but was
for all men; that all men might be saved if they would believe in Jesus;
and this great truth Stephen began to preach with all his power. Such
preaching as this, that men who were not Jews might be saved by
believing in Christ, made many of the Jews very angry. They called all
the people who were not Jews "Gentiles," and they looked upon them with
hate and scorn; but they could not answer the words that Stephen spoke.
They roused up the people and the rulers, and set them against Stephen,
and at last they seized Stephen, and brought him before the great
council of the rulers. They said to the rulers:
"This man is always speaking evil words against the Temple and against
the law of Moses. We have heard him say that Jesus of Nazareth shall
destroy this place, and shall change the laws that Moses gave to us!"
This was partly true and partly false; but no lie is so harmful as that
which has a little truth with it. Then the high-priest said to Stephen:
"Are these things so?"
And as Stephen stood up to answer the high-priest, all fixed their eyes
upon him; and they saw that his face was shining, as though it was the
face of an angel. Then Stephen began to speak of the great things that
God had done for his people Israel in the past; how he had called
Abraham, their father, to go forth into a new land; how he had given
them great men, as Joseph, and Moses, and the prophets. He showed them
how the Israelites had not been faithful to God, who had given them such
wonderful blessings.
Then Stephen said:
"You are a people with hard hearts and stiff necks, who will not obey
the words of God and his Spirit. As your fathers did, so you do, also.
Your fathers killed the prophets whom God sent to them; and you have
slain Jesus, the Righteous One!"
As they heard these things, they became so angry against Stephen, that
they gnashed on him with their teeth, like wild beasts. But Stephen,
full of the Holy Spirit, looked up toward heaven with his shining face;
and he saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on God's right hand, and
he said:
"I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right
hand of God!"
But they cried out with angry voices, and rushed upon him, and dragged
him out of the council-room, and outside the wall of the city. And there
they threw stones upon him to kill him, while Stephen was kneeling down
among the falling stones, and praying:
"Lord Jesus, receive my spirit! Lord, lay not this sin up against them!"
And when he had said this, he fell asleep in death, the first to be
slain for the gospel of Christ.