Peter preached that Jesus Christ was the Messiah. One might think that the Pharisees who believed in an afterlife might be concerned about his teachings. Instead, it was the Sadducees and the captain and priests of the temple that clashed with his preaching. It is the more surprising when you consider the Sadducees were more liberal than the Pharisees and actually tolerant to a fault. They were not so much concerned about differences in religious views as they were concerned about attracting too much attention from the Roman Authorities. They were allowed considerable latitude in self government as long as it did not adversely reflect on Roman control and enterprise. Thus it was the Sadducees who were concerned about public preaching and miracles for fear of losing their ability to govern.

The Christians, on the other hand, had very little to lose. Even though believers were numbered at about five thousand, authority and power lay only in the hands of the Sanhedrin and the chief priests of the temples. Still, the rulers, elders, scribes and priests gathered to question Peter and John about their activities. They could not question the healing itself because there were so many witnesses. So they asked by what power or by what name did they accomplish the healing. This was an attempt to discredit the deed by throwing suspicion on the source.

Peter had come a long way from simple fisherman to articulate spokesman for the Christian sect. He was filled with the Holy Spirit and preached much as he did the day before at the healing. He stated it was accomplished in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom they crucified and whom God raised from the dead. He proclaimed that there was no salvation in any other name.

The rulers of the temple were aware that Peter and John were unlearned men with ignorant backgrounds which made the healed man standing in their midst even more remarkable. They could not deny the miracle and yet could not allow it to be spread even further. They commanded them not to speak nor teach in the name of Jesus. Peter and John answered they could not but speak the things which they had seen and heard. They were released because all the people glorified God for the miracle they observed.

Peter and John relayed the story and the threats of the rulers to their friends who were of one accord and broke into prayers of praise and thanksgiving. The result was another corporate act of the Holy Spirit. While all Christians feel the guidance and support of the Holy Spirit, it is frequently intermittent. Some saints make such possession by the Spirit habitual and characteristic. These are truly full of the Spirit. However, sometimes, as in the case of Pentecost, the community as a whole was filled with the Spirit. The result of their prayers and the fullness of the Holy Spirit was a petition that they be given the power, not to keep still, but to speak out with even greater boldness than before. Their prayers were answered and the men went out and spoke the word of God with boldness.

Historic early Christianity has been described as full of tempestuous enthusiasm; overwhelming intensity of feeling; immediate awareness of the presence of God; incomparable sense of power; and irresistible control over the will, the inner spirit and even the physical condition of other men. What occurred here is in effect another small Pentecost that fortifies the disciples to proclaim Jesus’ teachings to all who will listen.

This coming of the Holy Spirit into the whole gathering left all the believers of one heart and of one soul. Once again, the corporate life of the community is emphasized. As we described in chapter two, they were already bound into a fellowship by the same ideas (apostles’ teaching), the same practices (breaking of bread) the same religious habits (prayers) and common economic rights and responsibilities. This time, the association between the apostles’ witness to the resurrection and the life of the community was added to the bonds of their fellowship. They not only worked to heal the sick, they were able to transform self-centered individuals into self-sacrificing members of the group. This moral and spiritual change in the life of believers is just as critical today.

Every church is, at least potentially, a resurrection center. People come to the church primarily concerned with their own affairs. Within the church their horizons are broadened as they come to know and feel the needs of other people. They share what they have with those who have less or nothing at all. Their own burdens are eased as the shoulders of their fellow men assume part of the weight. There have always been two distinct poles in human life: the individual and the group. It has been the function of the church to help the individual find himself by incorporating him into the life of the Christian community.

Some people are looking for an impregnable fortress where they may pursue their private ways with little or no concern for the rest of mankind. In many ways, we can do that today. We can live in a gated community and control the information allowed inside. We can be safe, sound-proofed and love-proofed. As we break down into lonely fragments of forlorn life, we begin to look for a community where private enterprise will be redeemed by a concern for public benefit.

The church will not and should not presume to dictate the legal and economic ways and means by which this society will be organized. However, the church can and must affirm the underlying principles which govern sound community life. The precious privilege of individual initiative must be guarded at all costs. The right of private property is to many of us the necessary and natural stimulation to the exercise of that privilege.

Where private enterprise exploits the life and talents of the people, where it monopolizes the fruits of the earth which are meant to be shared by all men, and where it makes its way without regard for the welfare of the people at large, it must be checked either by the free consent of those concerned or by the legislated will of the people. The incentive for such a self-imposed discipline is to be found where the first Christians found it, in Jesus: and the power to practice the discipline is the power of the living Christ.

Some people have sought the life of a nomad to avoid the responsibilities of community. Without stakes, roots, permanent alliances or responsibilities, they cut themselves off from the mainland of culture and tradition. They leave home and move into environments where they are not known and they can do as they please. The church works to re-establish the bonds which bind us to the past and the roots which tie us to reality. The moral seriousness of the Hebrews, the beauty and form of the Greeks, the science and art of the Europeans can all be recovered and like anchors, keep our community from drifting. Within this larger community is the company of the faithful who are held together by their relationship to Christ.

Others have sometimes sought a cloister. Religion, according to their understanding, is a personal matter and scorns to rub shoulders with the common crowd. They have forgotten the advantages of community. Without the community there would be no sanctuary and no men of spiritual genius; for the great ones have been lifted, as it were, on the shoulders of the group, articulating, refining, and propelling the unexpressed intimations of the less gifted members of the group. A man is saved not by his achievements alone, but by his associations also. What a man belongs to will in many instances be the saving factor in his life. If Christianity expects to exert an influence on this chaotic world, it will never do it through unrelated, though well-meaning individuals. It will do it through the community that is dedicated to a divine commission.