Jesus’ agenda

Acts 4:1-12

¹ While Peter and John were speaking to the people, they were confronted by the priests, the captain of the Temple guard, and some of the Sadducees. ² These leaders were very disturbed that Peter and John were teaching the people that through Jesus there is a resurrection of the dead. ³ They arrested them and, since it was already evening, put them in jail until morning. ⁴ But many of the people who heard their message believed it, so the number of men who believed now totaled about 5,000.

⁵ The next day the council of all the rulers and elders and teachers of religious law met in Jerusalem. ⁶ Annas the high priest was there, along with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and other relatives of the high priest. ⁷ They brought in the two disciples and demanded, “By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?”

⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of our people, ⁹ are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed? ¹⁰ Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. ¹¹ For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says,

‘The stone that you builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.’

¹² There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”

The Sadducees were a group within the Jewish community that held high social positions within the Jewish religious community. They did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. Their primary interest lay in keeping the traditions and practices of the Jews pure in their sight and maintaining the status quo.

As I contemplate their interests I am reminded of the ‘culture wars’ that exists today in the world of social and traditional media. As a Christian, it can be seductive for me to be drawn in to the outrage and to wonder “which side is right”? Are the ‘progressives’ really destroying society? Are the ‘conservatives’ really destroying the vulnerable.

The apostle Peter has a message for me.

Jesus is fighting against the work and agenda of Satan. Satan comes to kill, steal and destroy. Jesus has come so that people might be saved and discover life in Him, life to the full. Sadducees fight for power; Christians follow the one who laid down his life for others.

Lord Jesus, as I follow you this week, may I be filled with your Holy Spirit, so that I act in kindness. Fill my kindness with your resurrection power for the sake of those I meet and for your glory. Amen.

Written by Andrew Mellor