The same people who sent Jesus to the cross were in church the following Sunday. Peter addressed them. He said, “you handed him over to be killed”, “you disowned him”, “you killed the author of life”.
Though this specific group of church people were literally part of the actual crowd that handed Jesus over – who disowned Him and killed the Author of life, who just days before were yelling crucify Him – there are some in the group of church people today, who by their blatant conduct during the week are also disowning and killing the Author of life?
And what did God do about it? He gave them another chance to see. Luke points out that He knew they “acted in ignorance”. Their eyes had not seen – their hearts had never understood.
He provided a display of the miraculous of which they could not help but to take notice. He healed the crippled beggar that they had seen Sunday after Sunday on their way to church. They saw it and were astonished. It made them perk up when Peter and John proclaimed the good news, that God had raised this Jesus from the dead.
With the added element of the miraculous, it helped them to see. Is the church not in need of this miraculous element today? In the lack of it, does it not grope around in the dark – acting in ignorance – because it knows nothing better? We pray and little happens. We preach and people don’t hear. What if Peter had prayed for the crippled beggar and the beggar had not gotten up? What if the people inside had not seen that evidence? Would they have listened?
Lord, for the sake of Your church, and those who are lost, both in and out of it, I pray the prayer that Peter prayed in Acts 4:29, 30. “Now, Lord, consider their threats (consider the fact that they act in ignorance) and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” In at least some portion, permit these things.
Hunger and Thirst 