Nougat 6

It was a resit, but some things had changed. Firstly, there was the knowledge that although their master was gone, they were not in this alone. But there was also the fact that their detractors also knew that they were actually disciples of Y’shua. That was perhaps the most novel aspect of it all. Consider Today’s Holy Nougat

Acts 4:13 CEVDCI

[13] The officials were amazed to see how brave Peter and John were, and they knew that these two apostles were only ordinary men and not well educated. The officials were certain these men had been with Jesus.

Subtle Paradigm Shift

Had Peter and John doubted it, there was proof. In the presence of the fearsome religious leadership, God’s Spirit emboldened them and filled them with knowledge seemingly beyond their qualifications. So much so that it startled the religious leaders, who were not used to being contradicted by ordinary believers.

What must have passed through the leaders’ minds! To discover that they had become recipients of instruction on scripture and prophetic fulfilment as though they were novices. From ‘unlearned’ and ordinary men like Peter and John. Unthinkable – yet it happened. That’s how God works wonders when we allow God’s Spirit to lead us.

Point to Ponder

How often do we miss God’s gift to us because we’re focused on the messenger instead of the message?

Deeper Dive

It must have rankled them to realise that killing Y’shua didn’t silence the message. In fact, it seemed to have amplified it. That Peter and John, who were less educated than the least trained priest, could explain Spiritual matters to them and to the average person would have posed a challenge.

Centuries later, in some Christian spaces, access to the Gospel for the poor and simple also resulted in the persecution of the messengers. On July 6, 1415, a Czech priest, Jan Hus, was martyred for his condemnation of religious corruption and for making the Gospel available in the language of the average person. (It sounds similar to the work of God’s Spirit at Pentecost.) We don’t know if it was a resit exam for him, but he certainly allowed God’s Spirit to lead him. Hus wasn’t the only one. Many other reformers were persecuted for choosing to spread the Gospel.

Siblings, as I type, I’m realising that the resit was not only for Peter and John. Albeit that they were facing their rabbi’s murderers. God already knew that Peter and John knew that they had been redeemed from the guilt of denial and desertion. Their resit was settled.

That specific resit was prepared for Annas, Caiaphas, and the other religious leaders. They just didn’t see it that way. Not because Peter and John failed to deliver. It was partly due to the message being packaged and shared by Peter and John. If they were challenged by the spiritual authority of Y’shua, the carpenter; we can only imagine their inability to receive the Gospel message from Peter, the fisherman!

Which is our resit today: is God inviting us to look beyond ‘packaging’ to the message being shared; or are we – like Peter, John and Jan Hus – being challenged to speak truth to power while making the Gospel available to all?

Self-Check

If we discovered that sharing the Gospel (and challenging the religious status quo) could result in our martyrdom, would we make that subtle shift and risk our lives for Christ’s sake?

Selah

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May all we seek be found in Christ