Acts 4:13-31
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they
were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized them as
companions of Jesus. When they saw the man who had been cured standing
beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. So they ordered them
to leave the council while they discussed the matter with one another.
They said, "What will we do with them? For it is obvious to all who live
in Jerusalem that a notable sign has been done through them; we cannot
deny it. But to keep it from spreading further among the people, let us
warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name." So they called them
and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But
Peter and John answered them, "Whether it is right in God's sight to
listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from
speaking about what we have seen and heard." After threatening them
again, they let them go, finding no way to punish them because of the
people, for all of them praised God for what had happened. For the man on
whom this sign of healing had been performed was more than forty years
old.
After they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the
chief priests and the elders had said to them. When they heard it, they
raised their voices together to God and said, "Sovereign Lord, who made
the heaven and the earth, the sea, and everything in them, it is you who
said by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant:
'Why did the Gentiles rage,
and the peoples imagine vain things?
The kings of the earth took their stand,
and the rulers have gathered togetheragainst the Lord and against his
Messiah.'
For in this city, in fact, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the
Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, gathered together against your holy
servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do whatever your hand and your plan
had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look at their threats, and
grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness, while you
stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through
the name of your holy servant Jesus." When they had prayed, the place in
which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled
with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.
