To quote Yogi Berra, it was “deja vu all over again.” It was another “Lazarus moment.” They could not deny then that a dead guy, buried for four days, was again made alive . . . and now there was no refuting that a man lame from birth . . . a man who had never been past the temple gates where he laid daily asking alms of those who entered . . . that this lame guy lame had, under his own power, entered the temple and was “walking and leaping and praising God” (Acts 3:1-10). The evidence could not be denied . . . there it stood before them . . . literally, stood. Oh, this was not turning out to be good day for them for there was more to this “deja vu all over again” that vexed them.

It wasn’t just that this undeniable “notable sign” had occurred, but it was who was at the center of it . . . Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

I’m guessing they at least vaguely recognized Peter and John when they were brought before them and identified as the ones who had created such a stir at the temple by raising the lame to his feet. And they shouldn’t have asked the question of Peter and John if they weren’t prepared to accept their answer. “By what power or by what name did you do this?” they asked. “By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead–by Him this man is standing well before you” (Acts 4:10).

It must have come flooding back like a nightmare to them. It wouldn’t have been a big deal if the tomb where Jesus was buried wasn’t empty . . . would have been a no brainer if there hadn’t been reports by hundreds of people that Jesus was seen alive. And now this . . . a lame man walking . . . and leaping . . . and praising God . . . and made possible, so claimed, by the authority of the Jesus they crucified. Oh, I can just see them rubbing their forwards . . . and reaching for the aspirin as a splitting headache comes on. Been here before . . . what to do now?

Though the thought might have crossed their minds, they knew they couldn’t go break the man’s legs . . . the word of the lame man walking had circulated throughout Jerusalem (4:16) . . . that cat was out of the bag. Though they wanted to lay a lickin’ on Peter and John, that was only going to stir up more trouble as the people were all praising God for what had happened (4:21) So they warned them “not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus” (4:18). Yeah, right!

And I guess what really gets to me about this passage is the hard-heartedness of these religious leaders. Again, a miracle performed, the evidence of which is undeniable . . . again, the miracle clearly attributed to the One identified as God’s anointed, “the stone that was rejected by the builders, the cornerstone” (4:11) . . . again, the claims of Jesus’ resurrection being the source of dead people living and lame people walking . . . again, the invitation to respond to the evidence — to believe and to receive the gift of God.

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. – Peter (Acts 4:12 ESV)

And their hardness bugs me not because they are so much different than I am, but because they are so similar . . . because they are a reflection of my old nature, the flesh which still wars against the Spirit (Gal. 5:17).

O’ for a heart which is alive to the things of God . . . a heart that is moved by dead people made alive . . . a heart which grows deep in faith . . . a heart which is moved to obedience . . . a heart which responds to the lame walking by leaping and praising God . . .

. . . all by the grace of God . . . all for the glory of God. Amen?