“To stop this thing [the Gospel] from spreading any further among the people, we [the rulers, elders and teachers of the law] must warn these men [Peter and John] to speak no longer to anyone in this [Jesus’] name.” Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:17–20, NIV 1984).
My Musings – Today, more and more people no longer care what “is right in God’s sight,” if they even believe in God at all. There is also a growing contingent within Christian circles that there is nothing all that special about Jesus or His teaching. Although the disciples continued to speak “about what [they had] seen and heard,” the teaching that they passed along through the writings in the New Testament are no longer considered credible.
My Advice – The teaching of Jesus and His followers has been passed down to us. It is up to us to keep the message going. It may not spread much further as we approach the end, but let it be said about us that “we [could not] help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
