Lame Man

Lame man healed

ACTS 4 COMMENTARY ◄
Acts 4:13 Peter and John

Acts 4:14-22 Lame Man

Acts 4:23-31 You are God

ACTS 4:14 14 And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.

Who stood with Peter and John?
The lame "man who had been healed" (Acts 4:14)

What effect did the healed lame man standing with them have?
It validated their words, protected them against false accusations, and attested to God's grace and power.

Where had the healed lame man spent the night?
Either "in custody" (see Acts 4) with Peter and John, or he had gone home and returned the next morning.

What example does the healed lame man set?
When God does anything for us - healing us, calling us into His kingdom, etc. - we shouldn't walk away from Him. Instead, we should stand up for Christ, even against opposition, to both glorify and serve Him.

ACTS 4:15-16 15 But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, 16 saying, “What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

What should they do?
If they "cannot deny it," they should accept it and listen to what Peter and John have to say instead of trying to shut them up.

ACTS 4:17-22 17 But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name.” 18 So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” 21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done. 22 For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed.

Did the Jewish religious leaders claim to speak for or against God?

Who claims to speak for God today?
People who call themselves "reverend," "prophet," "bishop," "priest," "minister," even "pastor," etc.

Is it "right in the sight of God to listen to" them "more than to God" (Acts 4:19)?

What must every Christian read for themselves to know when they say things that contradict God?