My Stories

 

PETER AND JOHN ARE ARRESTED IN THE TEMPLE

 

            This wonderful story is found in the Bible, in the Book of Acts, Chapter 4. 

 

             What commotion.  What a hubbub in the Temple.  People were talking and shoving and crowing around Peter and John.  It was quiet as usual.  They were listening to what Peter had to say and he was telling them all about this miracle that had just happened outside.  The miracle was that a man who had never walked for forty years was now jumping around and leaping and dancing in the Temple and he was so thankful, he just couldn’t sit quietly and pray and be quiet like the other people.  So Peter was beginning to tell all the crowd just what had happened.  And he told them about Jesus, that he died on a cross and that he had risen from the dead and now he was in heaven and by His power, by the power of God, this man had been healed and could walk.

 

          Now the Chief Priests and the Temple Police and the Sadducees were watching and they started to grumble and be very, very annoyed.  They didn't want the people listening to this man because they did not believe in Jesus.  Actually, these were the people who had nailed Jesus to the cross and they were very mad and angry and upset.  So, right in the middle of Peter's sermon, they walked up to both Peter and John and they angrily grabbed them by the arms and dragged them away and put them in jail for the night.  

 

          The next morning, they had a great big court trial and with over seventy judges present, they brought Peter and John in front of them.  And then they said, "By what power or in what name have you done this?"  And Peter answered, it was in the name of Jesus that this man was healed and now can walk.  Oh, this made the men very angry and they discussed the problem, “What are we going to do with Peter and John?  If we let them continue speaking, the people will follow them.  But if we punish them, there will be an uprising and the people will be made at us."  So they came to a decision, a verdict, and they told Peter and John, "We forbid you to ever speak or teach in the name of Jesus again."  Well, Peter and John just looked at each other and they looked at these men and they said, "Are we to obey God or are we to obey you?  You be the judge of it.”  And the court was furious and they just said, "Get out of here!  Get out of here!  Leave!  Just leave!"  And so Peter and John and the lame beggar were released and they left.  And they went back to their friends and they just praised God and they prayed.  And they asked God to help them be bold so they could go out into all the world and tell more people about Jesus. 

 

         We can be bold and tell others about Jesus, especially when He has done something wonderful for us.  Don’t be afraid to share the love of Jesus and the love of God with your friends.