There is nothing they can say (Acts 4:3-22)

 There is nothing they can say.

 

 

[Acts 4:3-22]

  

 

When you read the column by Yong Deok Song titled 'Keumja's Word Thrown Towards the World, 'You Do It Well!,' you'll find the following text written: Keumja in the movie 'Kind Keumja’ closed the mouths of the world with even mightier words.  After serving 13 years of unjust imprisonment, Keumja was released, and in front of her appeared the church pastor holding tofu.  The pastor, with a smile amidst the church volunteer band's performance, probably expected such words to come out of Keumja's mouth. 'Pastor, thank you so much.  The reason I didn't lose hope even in the hellish prison for 13 years is solely thanks to you, Pastor.  From now on, with deep faith, I will pray and serve for the suffering and marginalized neighbors.'  This single letter is a 'priceless word' that is not to be discarded.  However, Keumja threw this short sentence to the pastor, and to the world, in a calm tone like 'Speak softly.' 'You do it well!'  This quoted phrase was seen in the column published in 'Christian Today' (January 12, 2006) under the 'Editorial Column.'  In the content of the article, there is a statement like this: 'You should do well in your churches.'  Of course, considering the dialogue 'You do it well!' from the movie 'Kind Keumja,' it seems that the written words are not incorrect.  Pastor Chansu Ahn of the Citizen's Church, who wrote this column, mentions that there are two functions of the church in bearing the role of salt in the world.  One is to create a good taste, that is, 'missionary work and evangelism of spreading the gospel,' and this is thought to be done well with full effort and capacity.  However, the problem lies in the other function of salt, which is 'preventing corruption.'  In this regard, each believer in the world is weak and indifferent in demonstrating honesty and diligence, which are the energies of preventing corruption, while living in the world.  As a result, now people in the world are saying to us, 'You do it well!'

 

The members of the Sanhedrin mentioned in today's passage Acts 4:3-22 are said in the Bible to be 'astonished and unable to say anything' toward the apostles Peter and John (v. 14).  In other words, the religious leaders were speechless when they saw the disciples of Jesus, Peter and John.  So today, under the title “There is nothing they can say,” we want to consider three ways in which we can make people in the world to be speechless:

First, in order to make people in the world speechless, we must present undeniable evidence.

 

Look at Acts 4:16 – “’What are we going to do with these men?’ they asked.  Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it.”  The religious leaders disliked Peter and John for healing the crippled man, so they had them arrested and the next day, the rulers, elders, and teachers of the law gathered in Jerusalem (v. 5) and questioned Peter and John, asking, “By what power or what name did you do this?” (v. 7).  Boldly, Peter declared, “It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed” (v. 10).  At this, the members of the Sanhedrin had nothing to say.  In other words, they were left speechless.  What was the reason for this?  There were three reasons (Park):

 

(1)   It was because Peter and John, whom they originally considered uneducated criminals, spoke without hesitation (v. 13).

 

Since Peter and John did not attend Rabbinical school nor receive Rabbinical education, the members of the Sanhedrin were astonished to see them speak boldly.

 

(2)   It was because they knew that Peter and John had been with Jesus (v. 13).

 

In other words, the fact that the disciples had been under the guidance of Jesus allowed them to boldly argue their case.

 

(3)   It was because the man who had been lame and was now standing with Peter and John was a clear testament to the miracle (v. 14).

 

The undeniable evidence of the man who had been lame and was now standing with Peter and John left the members of the Sanhedrin speechless.  Furthermore, since this miracle had become a famous sign known to everyone in Jerusalem, how could the religious leaders deny the work of God's healing?  Where else could such irrefutable evidence be found?

 

In an article about the DNA test results of a death row inmate from 13 years ago titled 'DNA Test Results of Death Row Inmate 13 Years Ago 'Guilty',' it is written: 'The DNA test results, conducted to determine the innocence of Roger Coleman, a death row inmate who had claimed his innocence until the moment of his execution 13 years ago, have shown that the guilty verdict at the time was correct.  Coleman was sentenced to death in 1982 after being accused of the rape and murder of his sister-in-law, Wanda McCoy, who was 19 years old at the time.  He continued to assert his innocence even up until his execution in May of 1992.  The spokesperson for Virginia Governor Mark Warner, who ordered the DNA test, explained that the DNA from the analyzed evidence matched that of the perpetrator and that 'the probability of randomly selected DNA matching the evidence is 1 in 19 million.'  Accordingly, the controversy surrounding Coleman's innocence, who was sentenced to death the following year for the alleged rape and murder of his 19-year-old sister-in-law in 1981, and whose sentence was carried out, has now been laid to rest.  If Coleman's innocence were to be proven in this test, it was observed that it would become the first case in the United States where a death row inmate who had been executed was found innocent, potentially sparking a surge in the movement to abolish the death penalty.  To use DNA test results as evidence in court: DNA test results can be used as evidence in court with an accuracy of 99.99% (Internet).  After reading this article, I thought about what undeniable evidence, similar to DNA, we as Christians should show to people.  I believe it is the life of Jesus Christ.  In other words, if we live out the life of Jesus Christ in this world, people will have nothing to say against us.  To put it the other way around, if we do not live out the life of Jesus Christ, our spiritual DNA, people in the world will have many criticisms of us.  As an example, in Acts 2:13, on the day of Pentecost, when the 120 disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, people mocked them.  In other words, when churchgoers are seen getting drunk, unbelievers will have plenty to criticize.

 

As Christians, we must make the people of the world speechless when they see our lives.  Look at Titus 2:7-8: “In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.”  In everything set them an example by doing what is good.  In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.  To do this, we need to diligently strive to become more like Jesus.

 

Second, in order to make people in the world speechless, we must speak of what we have seen and heard.

 

Look at Acts 4:20 – “For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”  The members of the Sanhedrin were left speechless because, through undeniable evidence, the healing of the man who had been lame and was now standing with Peter and John had become known to everyone living in Jerusalem (v. 16).  In the face of such evidence, Peter and John were questioned but threatened not to speak in the name of Jesus Christ to anyone (v. 17) and not to teach at all (v. 18).  To this, Peter and John responded, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God.  For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (vv. 19-20).  If, in the face of such threats, we do not speak of what we have seen and heard, what will happen?  Perhaps there will be no persecution.  There may be no suffering.  However, as true witnesses of Jesus, if we hide the truth under external threats, we should feel a sufficient burden on our conscience.  Yet it seems that as Christians, we do not feel this burden of conscience enough while living in hiding of the truth.  In situations where the truth is threatened, we lack the compelling spirit and passion to speak the truth.  Dr. Yoon Seon Park said, 'It is the most foolish act to try to block the truth with threats.  The more the truth is threatened, the more it spreads.  ...  A conscience that moves according to truth and reality is unstoppable.  Anyone who stifles their conscience from moving in accordance with truth is, in effect, choking the agency of God's word.  It is a terrible evil akin to suicide, and the result is destruction’ (Park).

 

Peter and John, under the threat not to speak the truth in the name of Jesus anymore and not to teach, could not help but speak of what they had seen and heard.  Clearly, as witnesses who had seen the once crippled man, now standing and walking, in the name of Jesus Christ, they could not yield to the threats of the religious leaders.  How did Peter and John have this irresistible passion for the gospel?  It can be considered in a few ways:

 

(1)   They lived "in the sight of God."

 

A person who lives before people can easily succumb to human threats.  However, a true believer who lives before God fears God more than people, and therefore does not compromise to human threats.

 

(2)   Because they lived before God, they sought to hear God's word more eagerly than the words of people.

 

This is truly precious faith. We live a life of faith that requires challenging training.  As we live among people, we must confess with praise that there is no greater joy than hearing the voice of the invisible God, apart from the voices of visible people.  How difficult is this!

 

(3)   They had sound judgment.

 

Peter and John clearly knew what was right and wrong.  Those who live before God develop sound judgment.  Therefore, they make right decisions within that judgment.

 

(4)   They had courage.

 

Because of their courage, even in the face of threats from religious leaders, they boldly declared that they could not help but speak about what they had seen and heard.  The determination and will to live a life of witness without yielding even in the face of threats is nothing short of true courage.  As witnesses of Jesus, we need the courage to speak about what we have seen and heard.  Even if there are threats and persecutions in this world that prevent us from speaking God's truth, we must be the ones who live alongside truth, ready to die with truth.

 

                We can say that Peter and John were witnesses or eyewitnesses.  Professor Hoon-taek Jung from Chongshin University said, ‘The Christian leaders who initially led the church were limited to being actual disciples of Jesus who had directly met him, witnessed his activities, and heard his teachings.  They were distinguished as witnesses’ (Internet).  Indeed, when we look at Luke 1:2 in the Gospel of Luke, the term "eyewitnesses of the word" is mentioned.  The author of Luke is referring to the eyewitnesses of the word because of the reliability of his own testimony.  Whether then or now, the testimony of eyewitnesses is recognized as the highest authority in court.  Therefore, authors used the verification of eyewitnesses as the ultimate validation for the credibility of their testimonies (Internet).  We are the eyewitnesses of the word.  Although we, like Peter and John, did not see Jesus with our own eyes or hear his voice, the Holy Spirit dwelling within us enables us to see Jesus in our hearts through the Scriptures and hear Him with our spiritual ears.  From that perspective, we can say that we are witnesses or eyewitnesses of Jesus . So, what is the role of an eyewitness?  It is to testify to what we have seen.  In other words, we must speak about what we have seen and heard.  When we do so, people in the world will have no accusations against us.  If they do have accusations against us, one of the reasons might be that we do not conduct ourselves as witnesses of the word, even though we are not eyewitnesses in the literal sense.

 

Third and last, in order to make people in the world speechless, we must give glory to God.

 

Look at Acts 4:21 – “After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened.”  Here, we can see that the members of the Sanhedrin were more afraid of the people than of God.  The man who had been crippled for 40 years and was now walking in the name of Jesus of Nazareth (v. 22) became a sign known to all the people living in Jerusalem (v. 16).  When the religious leaders saw that the people had witnessed this miracle and were giving glory to God, they couldn't find a way to punish Peter and John.  Instead, they resorted to threats and eventually let them go.  The religious leaders, despite witnessing the formerly lame man standing with Peter and John, chose to threaten them rather than give glory to God.  On the other hand, all the people of Jerusalem, after witnessing the miracle, gave glory to God.  Here, we can discern who was facing accusations.  It was the religious leaders, who, because of the people glorifying God, had no choice but to resort to threats against Peter and John.  In other words, their response to the sign was to give glory to God.  They couldn't do otherwise.  It exposed the darkness of the religious leaders' actions, as they chose to obscure the glory of God instead of giving Him the praise He deserved.

 

When the glory of God enters, we should give glory to God so that people in the world have no accusations against us.  In particular, I thought of Matthew 5:16: "In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."  As children of God's light, if we live a life that reflects the light of Jesus, and if we shine His light through our good deeds, people will glorify God, just as all the people in today's passage saw the miraculous sign through Peter and John and praised God.  Let us all heed the word of God spoken through the apostle Peter: "Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us" (1 Pet. 2:12).

 

Seeking to live a life solely for the glory of God,

 

 

 

 

 

James Kim

(Seeking to live a life solely for the glory of God, as genuine Christians)