A short time after the Holy Spirit came down, Peter and John were going up to the temple At the gate Beautiful they saw a cripple, forty years of age, whose life from birth had been one of pain. For a long time this unfortunate man had wanted to be healed but was far away from where Jesus was working. His pleadings finally persuaded some friends to carry him to the gate of the temple, but he found that the One on whom he had centered his hopes had been put to death.4TC 30.2

His friends knew how long he had eagerly hoped to be healed by Jesus, and they brought him to the temple daily so that passers -by could give him small donations to relieve his needs. As Peter and John passed him, he asked for a little money from them. “Peter said, ‘Look at us.’ So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. Then Peter said, ‘Silver and gold I do not have.’” The crippled man’s face fell, but the apostle continued: “‘But what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.’4TC 30.3

“And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God. Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple.”4TC 31.1

And “all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly amazed.” Here was this man, a helpless cripple for forty years, rejoicing in the full use of his legs and happy in believing in Jesus.4TC 31.2

Peter assured the people that the cure had happened through the merits of Jesus of Nazareth, whom God had raised from the dead. “His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.”4TC 31.3

The True Guilt of the Jews Revealed

The apostles spoke plainly of the Jews’ great sin in putting to death the Prince of life, but they were careful not to drive their hearers to despair. “You denied the Holy One and the Just,” Peter said, “and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.” “Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers.” He told them that the Holy Spirit was calling them to repent. Only by faith in the One whom they had crucified could they have their sins forgiven.4TC 31.4

“Repent therefore and be converted,” Peter pleaded, “that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” “God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.”4TC 31.5

Many were waiting for this testimony, and when they heard it, they believed and joined forces with those who accepted the gospel.4TC 32.1

While the disciples were speaking, “the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.”4TC 32.2

The priests had spread the report that the disciples had stolen Christ’s body while the Roman guard slept. It is not surprising that they were unhappy when they heard Peter and John preaching the resurrection of the One they had murdered. The Sadducees felt that their most cherished doctrine was in danger.4TC 32.3

Pharisees and Sadducees agreed that if these new teachers were not stopped, their own influence would be in greater danger than when Jesus was on earth. So with the help of a number of Sadducees, the captain of the temple arrested Peter and John and put them in prison.4TC 32.4

The Jewish rulers had received more than enough evidence that the apostles were speaking and acting under divine inspiration, but they firmly resisted the truth. Though at times they had been convinced that Christ was the Son of God, they had repressed that conviction and had crucified Him. Now God was giving them another opportunity to turn to Him. But the Jewish teachers refused to admit that the men charging them with crucifying Christ were speaking by the Holy Spirit’s direction.4TC 32.5

They became even more determined not to admit that they had been wrong. It was not that they could not yield. They could, but would not. They persistently rejected light and silenced the convictions of the Spirit, and their rebellion intensified with each new act of resistance against the message God had given His servants to proclaim.4TC 32.6

A Sin Worse Than the Original Crucifixion of Christ

God does not declare His judgment against unrepentant sinners merely because of the sins they have committed, but because, when they are called to repent, they choose to continue to defy the light. If the Jewish leaders had submitted to the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, God would have pardoned them, but they were determined not to yield.4TC 33.1

On the day following the crippled man’s healing, Annas and Caiaphas met for the trial, and the prisoners were brought before them. In that very room, in front of some of those men, Peter had shamefully denied his Lord. Now he had an opportunity to redeem his cowardice. The Peter who denied Christ was impulsive and self-confident, but since his fall he had been converted. He was modest and self-distrustful, filled with the Holy Spirit, and was determined to remove the stain of his apostasy by honoring the name he had once disowned.4TC 33.2

The priests were forced to ask the accused disciples how the cure of the crippled man had happened. With holy boldness Peter said, “Let it be known to you all, 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 stands here before you whole.”4TC 33.3

The Jewish leaders had thought the disciples would be overcome with fear and confusion when brought before the Sanhedrin. Instead, these witnesses spoke with a convincing power that silenced their opponents. There was no trace of fear in Peter’s voice as he declared concerning Christ, “This is the ‘stone that was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’”4TC 33.4

As the priests listened to the apostles’ fearless words, “they realized that they had been with Jesus.” When the disciples first heard the words of Christ, they felt that they needed Him. They searched for Him, they found Him, they followed Him, in the temple, at the table, on the mountainside, in the field. They were like students with a teacher, daily receiving lessons of eternal truth from Him.4TC 33.5

Jesus, the Savior, who had walked and talked and prayed with them, had gone up to heaven in human form. They knew that He was standing before the throne of God, still their Friend and Savior, forever identified with suffering humanity. Their union with Him was stronger now than when He was with them in person. An indwelling Christ radiated out through them, so that people marveled when they saw it.4TC 34.1

The man who had been miraculously healed stood close beside Peter as a convincing witness. The appearance of this man added weight to Peter’s words. Priests and rulers were silent, unable to refute Peter’s statement, but they were no less determined to put a stop to the disciples’ teaching.4TC 34.2

The priests had crucified Jesus, but here was convincing proof that they had not put a stop to the working of miracles in His name nor to the spreading of the truth He taught. The crippled man’s healing and the apostles’ preaching had filled Jerusalem with excitement!4TC 34.3

The priests and rulers ordered the apostles to be taken away so that they could counsel among themselves. It would be useless to deny that the man had been healed. To cover up the miracle by falsehoods was impossible, since it had happened before a crowd of people. They felt that they must stop the work of the disciples, or their own disgrace would follow.4TC 34.4

Calling them again before the Sanhedrin, the priests commanded them not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered: “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” So with repeated threats and warnings, the apostles were set free.4TC 34.5

The Divine Gift of Holy Boldness

While Peter and John were prisoners, the other disciples prayed constantly for them, fearing that the leaders might repeat the cruelty they had shown to Christ. As soon as the two apostles were released, they reported the result of the hearing. The believers were overjoyed. “They raised their voices together to God and said, ‘Sovereign Lord, ... look at their threats, and grant to Your servants to speak Your word with all boldness, while You stretch out Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of Your holy servant Jesus’” (NRSV).4TC 34.6

The disciples saw that they would meet the same determined opposition that Christ had encountered. While their united prayers were going up to heaven in faith, the answer came. They were given a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Filled with courage, they went out again to proclaim the word of God. “With great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.” And God blessed their efforts.4TC 35.1

The principle for which the disciples stood so fearlessly is the same that followers of the gospel clung to in the days of the Reformation. At the Diet of Spires, in 1529, the German princes heard the emperor’s decree restricting religious liberty and prohibiting further spread of the reformed doctrines. Would the princes accept the decree? Should the light of the gospel be shut out from so many still in darkness? Those who had accepted the reformed faith met together, and their unanimous decision was, “Let us reject this decree. In matters of conscience the majority has no power.”4TC 35.2

The banner of religious liberty held high by the founders of the gospel church and by God’s witnesses during the centuries since then has been committed to our hands in this last conflict. We are to recognize human government as divinely appointed, and we are to teach obedience to it as a sacred duty within its legitimate sphere. But when its claims conflict with the claims of God, we must obey God rather than men. A “Thus says the Lord” is not to be set aside for a “Thus says the church” or a “Thus says the state.”4TC 35.3

We are not to defy authorities. We should carefully consider our words, so that we do not appear antagonistic to law and order. We are not to say or do anything that would unnecessarily close up our opportunity to proclaim the truths committed to us. If the authorities forbid us to do this work, then we may say, as did the apostles, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”4TC 35.4

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