2026 Reading Plan Reflections - Day 169

Peter and John had watched a man who had never been able to walk rise to his feet. They had seen him enter the temple walking, leaping, and praising God. A crowd gathered, and Peter did what Peter now seemed unable to avoid doing: he told them about Jesus.

That message brought thousands of people to faith, but it also brought Peter and John before the religious authorities. We might expect news of healing, resurrection, and salvation to be welcomed by everyone. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to hear that God was alive and at work, rescuing people through the Messiah?

Not if the message threatens the position you have worked to protect. The Sadducees and chief priests held considerable religious, economic, and political power. They oversaw the temple, managed its sacrificial system, and worked closely with the Roman authorities.

The announcement that God had raised Jesus from the dead was not an interesting theological disagreement to them. Resurrection meant that God’s new creation had begun. It declared that the present order was not permanent and that God intended to set the world right. That's good news for the suffering, the forgotten, and the powerless. However, it can sound like a threat to those who benefit from keeping things as they are.

When the leaders demanded to know by what power or name the man had been healed, Peter answered plainly: “This Jesus is the stone you builders rejected; he has become the cornerstone! Salvation can be found in no one else. Throughout the whole world, no other name has been given among humans through which we must be saved” (Acts 4:11-12).

The stone rejected by the builders had become the cornerstone. The leaders believed they were protecting God’s house, but God was building something new around the very One they had rejected. Jesus wasn't just another religious teacher competing for influence. He was the crucified and risen Messiah. His name was not a tool the disciples could use to gain status or power. His name represented the saving work of God—the grace that heals, restores, forgives, and makes all things new.

Peter and John were described as “uneducated and inexperienced,” yet the leaders were amazed by their confidence. These fishermen had not attended the proper schools. They had no impressive credentials and held no official position. But they had been with Jesus.

They had listened to him teach. They had watched him touch the untouchable, welcome sinners, confront hypocrisy, and proclaim God’s kingdom. They had seen him crucified, and they had seen him alive again.

The authorities could question their education. They could challenge their interpretation. They could threaten them and command them to remain silent. But they couldn't erase what Peter and John had experienced.

“We can’t stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

This is the heart of Christian witness. Peter and John weren't trying to win an argument or build a reputation. They were bearing witness to what God had done. The Holy Spirit had given them courage, but also clarity. They knew who Jesus was, they knew what they had seen, and they knew that silence would be disobedience.

There is a lesson here for the church. Our witness becomes weak when it is reduced to slogans, opinions, or arguments. People may be able to debate our ideas, but there is something powerful about a life that has truly been changed by Jesus.

We may not have stood beside the empty tomb, but we have experienced his grace. We have known forgiveness when we were carrying shame. We have received strength when we thought we could not continue. We have found hope in grief, peace in uncertainty, and a new direction when our lives had wandered far from God. Have we grown so familiar with grace that we have stopped talking about it?

Peter and John could not keep quiet because the resurrection had changed everything. Jesus was alive. A man had been healed. God’s kingdom was breaking into the present. The old order of sin, death, and fear had been challenged, and the apostles knew they had been sent to tell the world.

Witness still matters. The Holy Spirit is still shaping ordinary people into bold witnesses. We do not need impressive credentials, polished speeches, or perfect answers. We need to remain close to Jesus, pay attention to the work of grace, and be willing to speak honestly about what we have seen and heard.

The question is not whether we know enough to speak. The question is whether we have been with Jesus long enough that remaining silent has become impossible...

Write down one specific way Jesus has changed, sustained, forgiven, or restored you.
Before the day ends, share that story with one person. Do not preach a sermon or force the conversation. Tell them plainly what you have seen and heard of God’s grace.