City Life Starter

Written by Stefan Johnsson

The Word

¹² Many signs and wonders were being done among the people through the hands of the apostles. By common consent they would all meet in Solomon’s Colonnade. ¹³ None of the rest dared to join them, but the people praised them highly. ¹⁴ Believers were added to the Lord in increasing numbers—crowds of both men and women. ¹⁵ As a result, they would carry the sick out into the streets and lay them on cots and mats so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on some of them. ¹⁶ In addition, a large group came together from the towns surrounding Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

¹⁷ Then the high priest took action. He and all his colleagues, those who belonged to the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. ¹⁸ So they arrested the apostles and put them in the city jail. -Acts 5:12-18

³⁷ Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. ³⁸ This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:

“Lord, who has believed our message
    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

³⁹ For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:

⁴⁰ “He has blinded their eyes
    and hardened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
    nor understand with their hearts,
    nor turn—and I would heal them.” -John 12:37-40

Reflection

Reading through Acts 5:12-18 is still mind-blowing for me, and maybe that’s because I already believe in God. Think about this, the apostles all met together in the Temple Grounds, and people were getting healed from every type of disease and deformities. Even the neighboring towns were sending in their sick, and this was after the healing of the lame man from the previous chapter of Acts. The evidence for the workings of the Holy Spirit was beyond any reasonable doubt, yet the teachers of the law did not believe. It’s crazy to even wrap your head around this, but then John 12 came to me when I was dwelling on this. The Pharisees and Sadducees could not believe because their eyes were blind and their hearts were hard. This is why they would not believe. Instead, they were filled with jealousy.

Here’s the key: They would not believe because they could not believe.

A famous atheist by the name of Richard Dawkins once said in an interview when asked what it would take to believe in God:

“Well, I used to say it would be very simple. It would be the Second Coming of Jesus or a great, big, deep, booming bass voice saying, ‘I am God.’ But I was persuaded… that even if there was this booming voice and the Second Coming with clouds of glory, the probable explanation is that it is a hallucination, or a conjuring trick by David Copperfield.

We cannot make people believe in God as it takes a supernatural opening of the eyes and heart by the Holy Spirit. No matter how overwhelming the evidence may be in support of God, a person cannot be saved unless they want to be saved.

Application

My nephew just finished his first semester of college. A super smart kid who aced his ACT. He has told me that he does not align with Christianity any longer, but instead considers himself as an agnostic. In my mind, this isn’t bad because at least he is willing to question and listen to arguments for and against compared to being completely closed off to Christianity. So I pray for his eyes and heart to be open to the gospel. For I know, I’m only a conduit of God’s will and His Holy Spirit working in and through me. Let the battle first be fought on the spiritual level, and then the words of life can be shared.

Do not be disheartened by those who refuse to believe. Nothing can convince them and nothing can change their mind by your own doing. Yes, pray for them, but there are many others out there who desperately need to hear the Gospel and are ready to accept and receive. So ask God to bring you into His plan and will. And maybe someday, these people you have been praying for will see your fruits and see God’s goodness for the very first time…in a new light.

Prayer

Father in heaven, let me continuously pray for those who refuse to believe, but Lord, let this not be the only thing I do. I want to partake in Your Holy Spirit’s work in the lives of people around me. There is a harvest and many who want to hear the Gospel preached. So I ask for Your Holy Spirit to guide me this week into these discussions and relationships. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.