Acts 4:13-22

The council members were astonished as they witnessed the bold courage of Peter and John, especially when they discovered that they were just ordinary men who had never had religious training. Then they began to understand the effect Jesus had on them simply by spending time with him. Standing there with them was the healed man, and there was nothing further they could say. So they ordered them to leave the room while they discussed the matter. Among themselves, they said, “What should we do with these men? Everyone in Jerusalem can clearly see that they’ve performed a notable sign and wonder—we can’t deny that. But to keep this propaganda from spreading any further among the people, let’s threaten them severely and warn them to never speak to anyone in this name again.” So they had them brought back in before the council, and they commanded them to never teach the people or speak again using the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “You can judge for yourselves—is it better to listen to you or to God? It’s impossible for us to stop speaking about all the things we’ve seen and heard!” Since the members of the council couldn’t come up with a crime they could punish them for, they threatened them once more and let them go. All the people praised God, thrilled over the miraculous healing of the crippled man. And the man who received this miracle sign of healing was over forty years old.