They Ceased Not to Teach and Preach Jesus Christ

Shortly before the Savior’s sacrifice in Gethsemane, He said to Peter, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” It was after this that Peter denied his association with the Savior three times, and afterwards he “wept bitterly,” presumably because of his failure to stand up for Jesus (Luke 22:31-32, 62). But whatever weakness he may have showed on that terrible night, the Peter that rose to the leadership of the Saints after the Savior’s ascension was rock solid in his commitment to Jesus Christ. He had indeed become converted like Jesus had hoped for him, and nothing could hold back his devotion to the Lord. We see this in the first several chapters of the book of Acts, starting with the day of Pentecost when the Spirit was poured out upon so many. Peter stood up before the crowd and declared, “Ye men of Judæa, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:… words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it… Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:14, 22-24, 36). He boldly witnessed of the Savior Jesus Christ, inviting the people openly to be baptized in His name. Whatever fear he may have had that night of the trial of Jesus, it was gone.

                Peter continued speaking openly and fearlessly of the Savior with the other apostles, even at the risk of their lives. After healing the lame man at the temple, he declared to the people, “Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus;… And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know” (Acts 3:12-16). He similarly invited them to repent and believe in Jesus Christ, but the Jewish rulers were not happy about it. Luke recorded, “The captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day.” When they asked Peter, now in bonds, by what power he had done this miracle, there was no hesitation: “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.” These wicked rulers didn’t know what to do, so they “commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.” Peter and John didn’t even pretend for a moment that they were going to obey this command: “Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:10, 18-20). And so, once let free, they went back to preaching Jesus and blessing the people in His name again. Because of the miracles they did, “Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation, And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison.” So they were back in prison, but not for long, for “the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.” Fearless, and without regard for their own lives, they did just that: “They entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught.”

When the rulers found out that they had miraculously escaped the prison and were preaching once again, Peter and the other apostles were arrested again. When threatened that they should not speak of Jesus, Peter answered, “We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.” I love Peter’s unashamed declaration of Jesus Christ before this group who sought to do him harm. Eventually they decided to let Peter and the apostles go, but only after they beat them and commanded them again to not speak in the name of Jesus. I have always been impressed with the way Luke described their attitude after being thus beaten and set free: “And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ” (Acts 5:17-21, 29-32, 41-42). Whatever hesitations they may have had previously, Peter and these other apostles were truly converted and their testimony of Jesus could not be silenced.