Acts 4:8-12 Easter 5
Pastor Ron Koehler
Grace—Tucson, AZ
May 3, 2026
I don’t know how you feel about it, but most people don’t enjoy confrontation. If that’s you, you know how it goes. Someone says something that causes some tension, and things turn serious. They say something that isn’t right—maybe it’s about God, maybe about Jesus, maybe about “all religions being basically the same.” As you sit there, hearing this thing about God, it’s kind of like watching the dark desert clouds build and feeling the pressure in the air. That’s how it feels in your chest and your mind is racing, and like the desert storm that is about to arrive, you can’t avoid the question: Do I say something… or do I just let it go? I want to be quiet when I’m at a fun event—graduation party, a family get-together—and in a friendly spiritual conversation, someone casually says, “I think as long as you’re a good person, you’ll be fine.” I don’t want to say anything when another student says, “Christianity is way too exclusive. There can’t be just one way.” It’s easier to stay quiet, isn’t it? You don’t have to deal with the awkwardness. There is no pushback, no tension in the room And our sinful nature loves that option. It would rather avoid the moment than risk the discomfort. And honestly, if Jesus were still in the grave, staying quiet would make perfect sense. But he’s not. Today we see exactly how the empty tomb of Jesus changes a moment like that, because we get to see Peter as he found himself standing in the same kind of storm. Only this wasn’t a graduation party or a casual conversation. This was so much more intense. Peter and John had just healed a man who had been crippled his entire life. Everyone knew the guy, so they were amazed and gathered around Peter and John, who naturally spoke about Jesus and his rising from death. Speaking Boldly About the Risen Jesus That’s when the dark clouds rolled in. The religious leaders—the same ones who had Jesus arrested and crucified—swept in like an angry storm. They didn’t like the message. They didn’t like the name of Jesus being preached. They didn’t like the resurrection being proclaimed. So they seized Peter and John, threw them in jail overnight, and brought them in the next day to stand before the Sanhedrin—the highest Jewish court. We may have had to speak publicly as part of a class in school…or we may have had to sit before a few people to interview for a job…or maybe even a panel interview for our profession, but nothing like this, I’m certain. I’m going to share what happened to set up Peter’s response here, and just try to put yourself in their place in that room: The rulers, the elders, and the experts in the law assembled in Jerusalem with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all the rest of the high priest’s family. After they made Peter and John stand in front of them, they began to question them: “By what power or by what name did you do this?”