Authority

" "They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: "By what power or what name did you do this?" Acts 4:7

For clarification and context for this verse, "They" are the rulers, elders and teachers of the law. What they had done was heal someone. Frankly, as is so often true, what this is really about is not what it is about on the surface. The question is not about somebody being healed.

I often wish that people really cared that much about people and their real circumstances. The big question here is about power and who the biggest names were going to be. The issue is about authority and influence. Who was going to be brokering the power?

You see, when there is a power shift, people are threatened because the status quo is at risk. Somebody might lose their "say so", or their cushy income source. Or, their influence or position. Now that is a real problem. If Jesus is the name, and the power, and hence the authority, then all that has been instituted and feeds the status quo is at risk.

One word I have not mentioned that is always at the heart of power issues, is here too. Money. Money and what it buys. The temple business was lining somebody's pockets. Somebody was backing somebody because the power of the purse was at stake. The powers that be had survived Jesus, now they were dealing with His message and messengers. Corruption on every level was pandemic and any moral authority, especially one with power, threatens that. Something to think about.

In His Service,
Pastor Fred

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