As Franco Zeffirelli prepared to film his critically acclaimed version of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, he made a daring decision. He chose two unknowns to play the lead characters and insisted they be close to the age of the characters as Shakespeare had penned them. Zeffirelli ultimately selected seventeen-year-old Leonard Whiting as Romeo and sixteen-year-old Olivia Hussey as Juliet.
Some might think that Jesus took a similar risk with the selection of His disciples, who later took His message of forgiveness to the world. That’s when the religious leaders arrested and questioned some of them. Then Acts 4:13 says, “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished.”
Any assumed risk was more than overwhelmed by the real story behind these simple fishermen: “They took note that these men had been with Jesus” (4:13). The seemingly unqualified disciples had not only been with Christ, but they also had His promise to be with them always (Matthew 28:20). We share that promise as well (Hebrews 13:5) and can be assured that, in His presence and with His grace, no task set before us will be too great for Him.
When you have felt overwhelmed, how have you typically responded to the pressure? How might you invite Jesus to help you during those challenging times?
Dear Jesus, please forgive me for the times I try to forge ahead in my own strength and wisdom. I want to rely on You in all of life’s moments.
Acts 4 describes the Sadducees being “greatly disturbed” by the apostles’ teaching because they were “proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead” (v. 2). The Sadducees were one of two prominent groups of Jewish religious leaders mentioned in Scripture; the other was the Pharisees. A primary division in belief between them was the doctrine of physical resurrection. The Sadducees denied the existence of both an afterlife and a future bodily resurrection, while the Pharisees believed in both. While confronting the Sadducees, Peter was empowered by the Spirit to boldly proclaim Christ’s resurrection (vv. 8, 10). As believers indwelt by the Spirit, we can also experience Jesus’ presence and grace.
