Acts 4:1-12
And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.
5 On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Jesus did it, and it got him killed. Well, actually it wasn’t his actions that got him killed. But he could have caved, said what Pilate and all the other religious leaders wanted him to say, and sidestepped his trial and conviction. But sometimes you simply must speak truth to power.
The truth in this case was that Jesus had died, but had been raised from the dead. He was now reigning at the right hand of God. He was still at work in the world, although he had gone on to the next, reigning at the right hand of God. The truth was and is that Jesus has the name that is above every name. At his name every knee will bow in heaven and on earth. One day every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
That truth was spoken by Peter to the powerful religious leaders of his day. I notice that it wasn’t just the high priest, but his family and a whole entourage of powerful men to whom Peter was speaking. I’d be intimidated. I’m not sure I could have stood up to these powerful men as did Peter. Sure, Peter was inclined to speak first and think later. But still…these are the power brokers of their day. They had lots of sway over the outcomes of this encounter. Yet Peter gives bold witness.
I don’t know if I’ll ever be confronted by such power, but I do know the truth. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. There is salvation in his name alone. His is the ultimate power and the purest truth.
David Bahn - Reflections 
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