Acts 5:12-16

The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon's Colonnade. No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed.

 

In Acts 4:23-30, Luke began to describe the believers’ response to Peter and John’s arrest and the threats they faced: they prayed to God for help. In Acts 4:31-5:11, Luke described what the response was: God enabled them to speak the word of God boldly and share their goods with one another generously.

 

But we also saw Ananias and Sapphira die when they tried to lie to the apostles and, ultimately, to the Holy Spirit. No man laid hands on them; God killed them as He spoke to them through Peter. The conclusion was that great fear came upon the whole church and all who heard of these things.

 

From this Luke leads us into a further description of how the apostles did miraculous signs and wonders. God was confirming His power through the apostles – mostly His power to save, to restore, to heal, but also His power to judge. Jesus was confirming through the apostles that this movement was propelled forward by the hand of God.

 

So the believers continued to meet together in a place called Solomon’s Colonnade. It could be that no one else dared to join them because of the religious leaders’ threats. Peter and John had, after all, been threatened by the religious leaders, and people might have been afraid to stand up and say that they believed God was really working among this new movement. But it seems more likely that their fear of joining came from a recognization that there was some kind of power at work among the disciples – some kind of great power, and those who did not yet believe in Jesus were afraid to come near for fear that something like what happened to Ananias might happen to them.

 

But many men and women who saw this power at work believed the apostles’ testimony that Jesus was the exalted Christ, sent by God and doing these works. They joined the other believers; only those who did not believe were too afraid to join them. And because they recognized that Jesus was saving people from their diseases through Peter and the other apostles, they brought their sick out into the streets to be healed as Peter’s shadow fell on them. Even people from Jerusalem’s surrounding towns brought sick and demon-oppressed people to be healed. Luke’s testimony is that they were all being healed!

 

How was this happening? What was going on? It is just as Peter said in Acts 4:12: “Salvation is found in no one else [but Jesus], for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Peter was not the amazing one. Jesus was. And is. Jesus was confirming that He was truly the Christ Peter said He was. Jesus was confirming that He was truly the Lord Peter said He was. Jesus was giving example after example of His saving power to the Jews through the apostles. He could save people from deformities. He could save people from sickness. He could save people from demons. So when the apostles testified that Jesus could save people from their sins and restore their relationship with God, they had to be telling the truth. It sounded almost impossible – but look at all the other impossibilities Jesus did through them! And on top of the promise of a restored relationship with God was the promise of a future resurrection – a total restoration of all creation! The sick who were healed might get sick again, but not after Jesus came back! Once Jesus came back, His saving power would be extended to His people forever! And the proof for now was the miracles Jesus did through the apostles. If Jesus had such power while away from earth and up in heaven, what would it mean when He visited earth again?

 

Father, thank You again for sending Jesus. And thank You for confirming through the apostles and the miraculous signs you did through them that Jesus has been exalted to Your right hand. Thank You for giving me the opportunity to respond, the opportunity to believe in this Jesus who saves sinners and restores the physically broken. Thank You that Jesus has this power to heal. May He continue to heal people in our time as evidence that He has the power to heal people forever. And may many people believe in Him and seek Him. May many people be restored to You through the power You have given Jesus as they hear the good news that Jesus died to save them. Father, be exalted through Your wonderful son, Jesus Christ!