Dialogue

Acts 4:1-22 A quick review : John and Peter were going up to the temple to pray (a nod to the truth that the earliest Christians saw themselves as fully and faithfully Jewish). They were about to pass through the Beautiful Gate (which is not so much a gate we can pinpoint with archeological accuracy today, but a foreshadowing of what is about to happen there). They saw this man who was lame from birth being carried in by his friends (see Mark 2:1-12 to see a story from the life of Jesus that this passage echoes). After the man was healed, Peter, John, and this man danced into church created quite a commotion because people were amazed that the man who was paralyzed from birth is now not only walking but leaping all around them. Creating a scene in church...not something we've ever gotten used to. So in this passage the religious authorities want to keep things under control... something we are still used to. They question Peter and John about why they