Peter 'Beards The Lion'

Peter said, "Silver and gold have I none,"
To the man at the temple who was lame,
In answer to his habitual dun;
"Get up and walk, in Jesus the Christ's name!"
His feet and ankles strengthened, and he stood
And jumped, running ahead into the court,
Praising Jesus, showing priests that he could
Walk and run like others, with no support!
Barely two months since priests crucified Him,
Apostles did wonders in Jesus' name,
Where the guilty ones were, in front of them,
Making doubly sure the world knew who to blame!
Peter 'bearded the lion' in his own den,
Proving Jesus' power in front of men!

The complete story of this incident and its aftermath is found in the Book of Acts, chapters 3 and 4. I will summarize it here, but I urge you to read it for yourself. You will discover the immense courage of Peter in facing Annas, the High Priest, and the Sanhedrin; also, Peter was given the opportunity to preach the gospel to the religious leaders who had rejected Jesus and had Him crucified. As a result, Peter's second sermon resulted in 2,000 more converts to Christianity, including some Pharisees and religious leaders. Peter's sermon in Solomon's Colonnade so disturbed the Sanhedrin that they had Peter and John put in jail for the night.

"The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to all the people. They were greatly disturbed because the Apostles were teaching and proclaiming through Jesus the resurrection of the dead...But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand." (Acts 4:1-2;4)

"'By what power or what name did you do this?' Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, 'Rulers and elders of the people, if we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that that man stands before you healed...Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given to men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:7-12)

Was this the same Peter who had denied knowing Jesus 3 times outside Caiaphas' house the night Jesus was on trial? Well, yes and no. He was the same man, with one vital difference---this man was indwelled by the Holy Spirit! The High Priest found no justification for punishing Peter and John and released them, commanding them not to preach in the name of Jesus.

"But Peter and John replied, '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.'" (Acts 4:19-20)