While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came to them, 2much annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming that in Jesus there is the resurrection of the dead. 3So they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4But many of those who heard the word believed; and they numbered about five thousand. 5The next day their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem,6with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” 8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, 10let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. 11This Jesus is ‘the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.’ 12There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.” 13Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized them as companions of Jesus (Acts 4:1-13).
As a baby-boomer, I am a big fan of the TV series ‘Leave it to Beaver’. My favorite moment was a dialog between June Cleaver and Eddie Haskel. Eddie says ‘Your hair always looks so nice Mrs. Cleaver’; she replies ‘Why thank you Eddie!’ He replies ‘My mother says that you must spend all of your time in the beauty parlor’. Hence in a very subtle and funny manner, Eddie’s mother suggested that June’s beauty was not natural – that her beauty came from the combination of hair products and skilled hands. June looked like she had been in a beauty salon.
Our primary text suggests that a similar incident occurred about 2000 years earlier. This earlier incident happened not long after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus but before the deceit of Ananias and Sapphira. In the third chapter of Acts, Peter and John encountered a lame man. They ministered to him in a miraculous manner; the man became strong enough to walk. The people who saw the miracle gathered together, and Peter used that moment to preach Christ.
The Jewish leaders put Peter and John under overnight arrest. The next day, Peter and John stood before their accusers, and once again Peter used a crowd as a moment to preach Christ. Just as Eddie Haskel’s mother had sized-up June Cleaver, the Jewish leaders sized-up Peter and John. They discerned that Peter and John were not intellectually astute and were not naturally oozing with theological profundity. Therefore they concluded that these former fishermen must have been with Jesus.
Let’s ask the text three questions: (1) What are the characteristics of a companion of Jesus? (2) What differentiates a follower from a non-follower? (3) What did the Jewish leaders see?
The text suggests that a nurturing experience with Jesus was evidenced by the beliefs and actions of Peter and John. Their creeds and deeds – their orthodoxy and orthopraxy - were consistent with the mind and ministry of Christ.
What did Peter and John believe? They believed that:
• Jesus was the crucified and resurrected Son of God
• Jesus was spoken of by the prophets
• Jesus was sent to turn people from sin
• Jesus was the only vector of salvation
What did Peter and John do? They:
• Stopped to make someone else’s life better
• Stopped to lift up someone who was down
• Stopped to recognize someone who was known by his birth defect instead of his birth name
• Stopped to change a Buberian ‘I-It’ relationship into an ‘I-Thou’ relationship
• Stopped to transform ‘a lame man’ into ‘a man’ by miraculously removing the adjective of social isolation
The creeds and deeds of Peter and John bore proof that they had been with Jesus Christ.
Please remember that Peter and John had not always looked like they had been with Jesus. In fact, it was when they were with Jesus that they looked the least like Him. For example, when Jesus was being arrested, Peter cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest. And in the 9th chapter of Luke, John and his brother James wanted to call down lightning to incinerate an unwelcoming Samaritan village. Disfiguring someone and wanting to use meteorological weapons of mass destruction do not mirror the person of Christ. Jesus’ perspective was to love one’s enemies – not scale them and fry them.
So what changed Peter and John from two recovering fishermen into the image of Christ? The answer is found in the second chapter of Acts. On the Day of Pentecost, the upper room with 120 chairs became the salon of the Holy Spirit; Peter and John received a divine makeover. The Holy Spirit began the sanctifying work of conforming them into the image of Christ. Think of it. They had walked with Christ for three years, but did not resemble Him until they received a divine makeover. Unlike an earthly makeover that works from the outside in, a divine makeover works from the inside out.
Let’s now move from historical significance to personal reflection. Let’s ask ourselves some very tough questions:
• Do I look like I have been with Jesus?
• Does my life resemble light or darkness?
• Do people look surprised when I tell them that I go to church?
• Do other people try to witness to me?
Colossians 3:1-17 gives us a good benchmark that we can use to measure our resemblance to Christ:
So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, 3for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory. 5Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). 6On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient.7These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life. 8But now you must get rid of all such things—anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. 9Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices10and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. 11In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all! 12As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. 13Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.14Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. 17And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
If embrace these teachings both cognitively and behaviorally, if we adopt these admonitions as our creeds and deeds, then we are reflecting of person of Jesus Christ.
If we have examined our beliefs and actions and conclude that we do not look like we have been with Jesus, then all is not lost. It has been 2000 years since the Day of Pentecost, but the salon of the Holy Spirit is still open. If you need a divine makeover, we invite you to come forward. God accepts walk-ins; no waiting and no cost – Jesus paid it all. You can leave here today, looking like you have been with Jesus. Jesus on the inside, working on the outside – oh what a change in our lives! Amen.
